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NEW  LIFE 


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THe(        n'OV    10  1961 

NEW   LIFET 

IDorts  of  (Bob  for  goung  IDisnpks  of  d^riat 


BY       y 

Rev.  ANDREW  MURRAY, 

AUTHOR  OF  "  ABIDE  IN  CHRIST,"    "  LIKE  CHRIST,"  ETC 


"  They  go  from  strength  to  strength: 
Every  one  of  them  appear eth  before  God  in  ZionJ*^ 


NEW  YORK 

HURST   &  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS. 


TRANSLATOR'S   NOTE. 


A  GLANCE  at  the  pages  of  this  little  work  will 
show  that  it  is  more  elementary  than  the  other 
writings  of  its  honored  author.  The  reason  is  that  it 
is  specially  designed  for  young  disciples  who  have 
but  recently  chosen  the  better  part,  and  consequently 
need  nothing  so  much  as  just  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus 
and  hear  His  word.  Every  minister  of  a  congrega- 
tion in  which  young  people  have  been  brought  to  the 
Lord,  will  remember  the  keen  feeling  of  anxiety  that 
swept  over  his  heart  as  he  contemplated  their  entrance 
on  the  duties  ana  responsibilities  of  a  public  Christian 
confession.  The  supreme  question  at  such  a  time  is  ; 
How  shall  these  young  converts  be  built  up  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth  ?  How  shall  they  be  best 
taught  the  real  nature  of  the  new  life  they  have  re- 
ceived, the  dangers  by  which  it  is  beset,  and  the  di- 
rections in  which  its  energy  may  safely  go  forth  ? 

The  desire  to  give  a  fitting  answer  to  these  ques- 
tions has  given  rise  to  many  excellent  manuals.  In 
connection  with  every  time  of  revival,  especially,  new 
books  for  this  circle  of  readers  always  make  their 
appearance.  As  Mr.  Murray  indicates  in  the  Preface, 
it  was  in  the  midst  of  such  a  happy  period  that  the 
following  chapters  were  written.  The  volume  came 
under  my  notice  whilst  I  was  recently  travelling  in 
Holland.  A  brief  inspection  showed  me  that  it  was 
one  of  the  most  simple,  comprehensive,  and  suggest- 
ive of  its  class.  It  is  now  translated  into  English 
3 


Translator's  Note. 

from  the  latest  Dutch  edition,  that  the  many  thousands 
who  have  profited  by  Mr.  Murray's  other  admirable 
works  may  have  a  suitable  book  to  give  or  recommend 
to  those  who  are  setting  their  faces  towards  an  earnest 
and  fruitful  Christian  life. 

That  it  will  be  very  helpful  to  this  end  I  cannot 
doubt ;  especially  if  the  directions  the  author  himself 
has  given  are  faithfully  adhered  to.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  chapters  are  comparatively  short ;  but  every 
one  of  them  has  a  considerable  number  of  Biblical 
references.  Let  no  reader  be  content  to  read  what  is 
written  here  without  turning  up  and  examining  the 
texts  marked.  This  practice,  if  persistently  carried 
out,  cannot  fail  to  yield  much  recompense.  There  are 
just  as  many  chapters  in  the  book  as  Sabbaths  in  the 
year.  What  an  additional  blessing  it  would  bring,  if  the 
members  of  a  family  who  have  had  access  to  the  book 
during  the  week,  were  to  hear  a  chapter  read  aloud 
every  Sabbath  evening,  and  were  encouraged  to  quote 
the  texts  in  each  that  may  have  struck  them  most. 

I  have  only  to  add  that  the  volume  is  now  translated 
and  issued  with  Mr.  Murray's  cordial  sanction.  It  has 
been  to  me  a  very  pleasant  task  to  put  it  into  an  Eng- 
lish dress  for  my  younger  brethren  throughout  the 
country.  Beyond  this  point,  of  course,  my  responsi- 
bility does  not  go.  Should  the  book  prove  useful  in 
guiding  the  feet  of  those  who  have  come  to  the  Lord 
yet  further  into  the  way  of  peace  and  holiness,  it  will 
be,  both  for  author  and  translator,  the  answer  to 
many  a  fervent  prayer. 

J.  P.  L. 

Arbroath,  September ^  1891. 

4 


PREFACE, 


IN  intercourse  with  young  converts,  I  have  very 
frequently  longed  for  a  suitable  book  in  which 
the  most  important  truths  that  they  have  need  of  for 
the  New  Life  should  be  briefly  and  simply  set  forth. 
I  could  not  find  anything  that  entirely  corresponded 
to  what  I  desired.  During  the  services  in  which,  since 
Whitsuntide,  1884, 1  have  been  permitted  to  take  part, 
and  in  which  I  have  been  enabled  to  speak  with  so 
many  who  professed  to  have  found  the  Lord,  and  who 
were,  nevertheless,  still  very  weak  in  knowledge  and 
faith,  this  want  was  felt  by  me  still  more  keenly.  In 
the  course  of  my  journey,  I  felt  myself  pressed  to 
take  the  pen  in  hand.  Under  a  vivid  impression  of 
the  infirmities  and  the  perverted  thoughts  concerning 
the  New  Life,  with  which,  as  was  manifest  to  me  from 
conversations  I  had  with  them,  almost  all  young 
Christians  have  to  wrestle,  I  wished,  in  some  words 
of  instruction  and  encouragement,  to  let  them  see 
what  a  glorious  life  of  power  and  joy  is  prepared  for 
them  in  their  Lord  Jesus,  and  how  simple  the  way  is 
to  enjoy  all  this  blessing. 

5 


Pre  face. 

I  have  confined  myself  in  these  reflections  to  some 
of  the  most  important  topics.  The  first  is  the  Word 
of  God  as  the  glorious  and  sure  guide,  even  for  the 
simplest  souls  that  will  only  surrender  themselves  to 
it.  Then,  as  the  chief  element  in  the  word,  there  is 
the  Son,  the  giftoftht  Father,  to  do  all  for  us.  There- 
upon follows  what  the  Scriptures  teach  concerning 
Sin,  as  the  only  thing  that  we  have  to  bring  to  Jesus, 
as  that  which  we  must  give  to  Him,  and  from  which 
He  will  set  us  free.  Further,  there  is  Faith,  the  great 
word  in  which  is  expressed  our  inability  to  bring  or 
to  do  anything,  and  that  teaches  us  that  all  our  salva- 
tion must  be  received  every  day  of  our  life  as  a  gift 
from  above.  With  the  Holy  Spirit  also  must  the 
young  Christian  make  acquaintance,  as  the  Person 
through  whom  the  word  and  Jesus,  with  all  His  work, 
and  faith  in  Him,  can  become  power  and  truth.  Then 
there  is  the  Holy  Life  of  obedience  and  of  f  ruitf  ulness, 
in  which  the  Spirit  teaches  us  to  walk.  It  is  to  these 
six  leading  thoughts  of  the  New  Life  that  I  have  con- 
fined myself,  with  the  ceaseless  prayer  that  God  may 
use  what  I  have  written  to  make  His  young  children 
understand  what  a  glorious  and  mighty  life  it  is  that 
they  have  received  from  their  Father.  It  was  often 
very  unwillingly  that  I  took  leave  of  the  young  con- 
verts who  had  to  go  back  to  lonely  places,  where  they 


Preface. 

could  have  little  counsel  or  help,  and  seldom  mingle 
in  the  preaching  of  the  word.  It  is  my  sure  and  con- 
fident expectation  that  what  the  Lord  has  given  me  to 
write  shall  prove  a  blessing  to  many  of  these  young 
confessors. 

[I  have,  in  some  instances,  attached  the  names  of 
the  places  where  the  diflferent  portions  of  this  manual 
were  written ;  in  others,  the  names  of  the  towns  where 
the  substance  of  them  was  spoken,  as  a  remembrance 
to  the  friends  with  whom  I  had  intercourse.] 

While  writing  this  book,  I  have  had  a  second  wish 
abiding  with  me.  I  have  thought  what  I  could  possi- 
bly do  to  secure  that  my  little  book  should  not  draw 
away  attention  from  the  word  of  God,  but  rather  help 
to  make  the  word  more  precious.  I  resolved  to  fur- 
nish the  work  with  notes,  so  that,  on  every  point  that 
was  treated  of,  the  reader  might  be  stirred  up  still  to 
listen  to  the  Word  itself,  to  God  Himself. 

I  am  hopeful  that  this  arrangement  will  yield  a  double 
benefit.  Many  a  one  does  not  know,  and  has  nobody 
to  teach  him,  how  to  examine  the  Scriptures  properly. 
This  book  may  help  him  in  his  loneliness.  If  he  will 
only  meditate  on  one  and  another  point,  and  then  look 
up  the  texts  that  are  quoted,  he  will  get  into  the  way 
of  consulting  God's  word  itself  on  that  which  he  wishes 
to  understand.  But  it  may  j  ust  as  readily  be  of  service 
7 


Preface. 

in  prayer-meetings  or  social  gatherings  for  the  study 
df  the  word.  Let  each  one  read  the  portion  fixed  on 
at  home  and  review  those  texts  that  seem  to  him  the 
most  important.  Let  the  president  of  the  meeting 
read  the  portion  aloud  once.  Let  him  then  request 
that  each  one  who  pleases  should  announce  one  and 
another  text  on  that  point  which  has  struck  him  most. 
We  have  found  in  my  congregation  that  the  benefit 
of  such  meetings  for  bringing  and  reading  aloud  texts 
on  a  point  previously  announced,  is  very  great.  This 
practice  leads  to  the  searching  of  God's  word,  as  even 
preaching  does  not.  It  stirs  up  the  members  of  the 
congregation,  especially  the  young  people,  to  inde- 
pendent dealing  with  the  word.  It  leads  to  a  more 
living  fellowship  amongst  the  members  of  Christ's 
body,  and  helps  also  their  upbuilding  in  love.  It  pre- 
pares the  way  for  a  social  recognition  of  the  word  as 
the  living  communication  of  the  thoughts  of  God, 
which  with  Divine  power  shall  work  in  us  what  is 
pleasing  to  God.  I  am  persuaded  that  there  is  many 
a  believing  man  and  woman  that  asks  what  they  can 
accomplish  for  the  Lord,  who  along  this  pathway 
could  become  the  channels  of  great  blessing.  Let 
them  once  a  week  bring  together  some  of  their  neigh- 
bors or  friends  (sometimes  two  or  three  households 
live  on  one  farm)  to  hear  read  out  texts  for  which  all 
8 


Preface. 

have  been  previously  searching :  the  Lord  shall' cer- 
taiiily  give  His  blessing  there. 

With  respect  to  the  use  of  this  book  in  retirement, 
I  would  fain  request  one  thing  more.  I  hope  that  no 
one  will  think  it  strange.  Let  every  portion  be  read 
over  at  least  three  times.  The  great  bane  of  all  our 
converse  with  Divine  things  is  superficiality.  When 
■we  read  anything  and  understand  it  somewhat,  we 
think  that  this  is  enough.  No :  we  must  give  time^ 
that  it  may  make  an  impression  and  wield  its  own  in- 
'fluence  upon  us.  Read  every  portion  the  first  time 
with  consideration,  to  understand  the  good  that  is  in 
it,  and  then  see  if  you  receive  benefit  from  the  thoughts 
that  are  there  expressed.  Read  it  the  secotid  time  to 
see  if  it  is  really  in  accordance  with  God's  word  :  take 
some,  if  not  all,  of  the  texts  that  are  adduced  on  each 
point,  and  ponder  them  in  order  to  come  under  the 
full  force  of  what  God  has  said  on  the  point.  Let 
your  God,  through  His  word,  teach  you  what  you 
must  think  and  believe  concerning  Him  and  His  will. 
Read  it  then  the  third  time  to  find  out  the  correspond- 
ing places,  not  in  the  Bible,  but  in  your  own  life,  in 
order  to  know  if  your  life  has  been  in  harmony  with 
the  New  Life,  and  to  direct  your  life  for  the  future 
entirely  according  to  God's  word.  I  am  fully  per- 
suaded that  the  time  and  pains  spent  on  such  converse 
9 


Preface. 

with  the  word  of  God  under  the  teaching  of  this  or 
some  book  that  helps  you  in  deahng  with  it,  will  be 
rewarded  tenfold. 

I  conclude  with  a  cordial  brotherly  greeting  to  all 
with  whom  I  have  been  permitted  to  mingle  during 
the  past  year,  in  speaking  about  the  precious  Saviour 
and  His  glorious  salvation  ;  also  to  all  in  other  con- 
gregations, who  in  this  last  season  have  learned  to 
know  the  beloved  Lord  Jesus  as  their  Redeemer. 
With  a  heart  full  of  peace  and  love,  I  think  of  you  all, 
and  I  pray  that  the  Lord  may  confirm  His  work  in 
you.  I  have  not  become  weary  of  crying  to  you :  the 
blessedness  and  the  power  of  the  New  Life  that  is  in 
you  are  greater  than  you  know,  are  wonderfully  great ; 
only  learn  to  know  aright  and  trust  in  Jesus,  the  gift 
of  God  and  the  Scriptures,  the  word  of  God.  Only 
give  Him  time  to  hold  converse  with  you  and  to  work 
in  you,  and  your  heart  shall  overflow  with  the  blessed- 
ness of  God. 

Now  to  Him  who  is  able  to  do  more  than  exceed- 
ingly above  all  that  we  can  ask  or  think,  to  Him  be 
glory  in  the  Church  to  all  eternity. 


Andrew  Murray* 


Wkluxgton, /2/A  ^«!f «»/,  iBBs. 
ID 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

I.    THE   NEW  LIFE I3 

II.    THE  MILK   OF  THE  WORD 17 

IIL    god's  word   in   our   heart 22 

IV.   FAITH 26 

V.    THE   power   of   GOD'S   WORD     ....  3I 

VL    god's   GIFT   OF   HIS   SON 36 

VII.    JESUS'    SURRENDER   OF   HIMSELF  ...  40 

VIIL    CHILDREN   OF  GOD 44 

IX.    OUR   SURRENDER   TO  JESUS 48 

X.    A  SAVIOUR   FROM   SIN 52 

XI.   THE  CONFESSION   OF  SIN 5^ 

XII.    THE   FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS 60 

XIII.   THE  CLEANSING  OF  SIN 64 

XIV.    HOLINESS 68 

XV.   RIGHTEOUSNESS 73 

XVI.   LOVE 77 

XVII.    HUMILITY 82 

XVIII.   STUMBLINGS 87 

XIX.   JESUS  THE  KEEPER 9^ 

XX.    POWER    IN   WEAKNESS 95 

XXI.   THE   LIFE   OF   FEELING 99 

XXII.    THE   HOLV   GHOST IO3 

XXIII.   THE   LEADING   OF  THE    SPIRIT  ....  I08 
II 


Contents. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIV.   GRIEVING  THE  SPIRIT II3 

XXV.   FLESH  AND  SPIRIT I18 

XXVI.    THE   LIFE   OF  FAITH I24 

XXVII.   THE   MIGHT  OF   SATAN I28 

XXVIII.    THE  CONFLICT   OF  THE  CHRISTIAN   .  .  I33 

XXIX.    BE  A  BLESSING I38 

XXX.    PERSONAL   WORK 142 

XXXI.    MISSIONARY   WORK 147 

XXXII.    LIGHT  AND  JOYFULNESS I53 

XXXIII.  CHASTISEMENT I57 

XXXIV.  PRAYER 162 

XXXV.    THE   PRAYER-MEETING 167 

XXXVI.    THE   FEAR   OF  THE   LORD 172 

XXXVII     UNDIVIDED   CONSECRATION 176 

XXXVIII.  ASSURANCE   OF   FAITH    ,...»....  181 

XXXIX.    CONFORMITY  TO  JESUS 185 

XL.    CONFORMITY   TO   THE  WORLD     ....  I9C 

XLI.   THE   lord's   DAY I95 

XLII.    HOLY   BAPTISM 20I 

XLIII.    THE   lord's   SUPPER 2o6 

XLIV.   OBEDIENCE 211 

XLV.    THE   WILL   OF   GOD 215 

XLVI.   SELF-DENIAL 220 

XLVII.    DISCRETION 226 

XLVIII.    MONEY 231 

XLIX.    THE   FREEDOM   OF  THE   CHRISTIAN    .     .  236 

L.    GROWTH 241 

LI.    SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES 246 

LII.  THE  LORD  THE  PERFECTER 252 

12 


1. 

THE  NEW  LIFE. 

"  For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only-begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but 
lia.ve  eternal  life.'' — John  iii.  i6. 

"  For  ye  died,  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  Christ 
is  our  h/e.'' — Col.  iii.  3,  4. 

"  We  declare  unto  you  the  life,  the  eternal  life,  which  was  with 
the  Father,  and  was  manifested  unto  us.  God  gave  uuto  us 
eternal  life ;  and  this  life  is  in  His  Son.  He  that  hath  the 
Son  hath  the  life." — i  John  i.  2,  v.  ii,  12. 

HOW  glorious,  then,  is  the  blessing  which  every- 
one receives  that  believes  in  the  Lord  Jesus. 
Not  only  does  there  come  a  change  in  his  disposition 
and  manner  of  life ;  he  also  receives  from  God  out  of 
heaven  an  entirely  new  life.  He  is  born  anew,  bom 
of  God  :  he  has  passed  from  death  into  life.^ 

This  new  life  is  nothing  less  than  Eternal  Life.' 
This  does  not  mean,  as  many  suppose,  that  our  life 
shall  now  no  more  die,  but  shall  endure  into  eternity. 
No :  eternal  life  is  nothing  else  than  the  very  life  of 
God,  the  life  that  He  has  had  in  Himself  from  eter- 
nity and  that  has  been  visibly  revealed  in  Christ. 
This  life  is  now  the  portion  of  every  child  of  God.^ 

1  John  i.  12,  13,  iii.  5,  7,  v.  24  ;  i  John  iii.  14,  v  i. 

2  John  iii.  15,  16,  36,  vi.  40,  51,  xi.  25,  26  ;  Rom.  vi.  11,  23,  wii.  2; 
I  John  V.  12,  13. 

3i  John  i.  3,  iii.  i,  v.  11.  '' 

13 


The  New  Life. 

This  life  is  a  life  of  inconceivable  power.  When- 
ever God  gives  life  to  a  young  plant  or  animal,  that 
life  has  in  itself  the  power  of  growth,  whereby  the 
plant  or  animal  as  of  itself  becomes  large.  Life  is 
power.  In  the  new  life,  that  is,  in  your  heart,  there 
is  the  power  of  eternity.^  More  certain  than  the 
healthful  growth  of  any  tree  or  animal  is  the  growth 
and  increase  of  the  child  of  God,  who  in  reality 
surrenders  himself  to  the  working  of  the  new  life. 

What  hinders  this  power  and  the  reception  of  the 
new  spiritual  life  is  chiefly  two  things.  The  one  is 
ignorance  of  its  nature,  its  laws  and  workings.  Man, 
even  the  Christian,  has  of  himself  not  the  least  con- 
ception of  the  new  life  that  comes  from  God  :  it  sur- 
passes all  his  thoughts.  His  own  perverted  thoughts  of 
the  way  to  serve  and  to  please  God,  namely,  by  what 
he  does  and  is,  are  so  deeply  rooted  in  him,  that, 
although  he  thinks  that  he  understands  and  receives 
God's  word,  he  yet  thinks  humanly  and  carnally  on 
Divine  things.^  Not  only  must  God  give  salvation 
and  life ;  He  must  also  give  the  Spirit  to  make  us 
know  what  He  gives.  Not  only  must  He  point  out 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  the  way  thither;  we  must 
also,  like  the  blind,  be  led  every  day  by  Himself. 
The  young  Christian  must  try  to  cherish  a  deep  con- 
viction of  his  ignorance  concerning  the  new  life,  and 
of  his  inability  to  form  right  thoughts  about  it.  This 
will  bring  him  to  the  meekness  and  to  the  child-like 

1  John  X.  10,  28  ;  Heb.  vii.  16,  29,  xi.  25,  26 ;  2  Cor.  xii.  9,  xiii, 
4 ;  Col.  iii.  3,  4  ;  Phil.  iv.  13. 
*  Jos.  iii.  4 ;  Isa.  Iv.  8,  9 ;  Matt.  xvi.  23. 

14 


The  New  Life. 

spirit  of  docility,  to  which  the  Lord  shall  make  His 
secret  known,  i 

There  is  a  second  hindrance  in  the  way  of  faith. 
In  the  life  of  every  plant  and  every  animal  and  every 
child  there  lies  sufficient  power  by  which  it  can  be- 
come big.  In  the  new  life,  God  has  made  the  most 
glorious  provision  of  a  sufficient  power  whereby  His 
child  can  grow  and  become  all  that  he  must  be. 
Christ  Himself  is  his  life  and  his  power  of  life.^  Yet, 
because  this  mighty  life  is  not  visible  or  cannot  be 
felt,  but  works  in  the  midst  of  human  weakness,  the 
young  Christian  often  becomes  of  doubtful  mind. 
He  then  fails  to  believe  that  he  shall  grow  with  Divine 
power  and  certainty.  He  does  not  understand  that 
the  believing  life  is  a  life  of  faith  whereby  he  reckons 
on  the  life  that  is  in  Christ  for  him,  although  he 
neither  sees,  feels,  nor  experiences  anything.' 

Let  every  one,  then,  that  has  received  this  new  life, 
cultivate  this  great  conviction  :  it  is  eternal  life  that 
works  in  me :  it  works  with  Divine  power :  I  can  and 
afid  shall  become  what  God  will  have  me  be  :  Christ 
Himself  is  my  life :  I  have  to  receive  Him  every  day 
as  my  life  given  by  God  to  me,  and  He  shall  be  my 
life  in  full  power. 


O  my  Father,  who  hast  given  me  Thy  Son  that  I 
may  have  life  in  Him,  I  thank  Thee  for  the  glorious 

1  Ps.  XXV.  5,  8,  9,  cxliii.  8  ;  Isa.  xlii.  i6,  Ixiv.  4  ;  Matt.  xi.  25  ;  i. 
Cor.  i,  18,  19,  ii.  7,  10,  12  ;  Heb.  xi.  8. 

'Ps.  xviii.  2,  xxvii.  i,  xxxviii.  3,  Ixxxiv.  8  ;  John  xiv.  19 ;  Gal. 
ii.  20  ;  Col.  iii.  3, 4. 

»Hab.  ii.  4;  Matt.  vi.  27 ;  Rom.  i.  17;  Gal.  iii.  11 ;  Heb.  x.  38. 

15 


The  New  Life. 

new  life  that  is  now  in  me.  I  pr?  /  Thee,  teach  me 
to  know  aright  this  new  life.  I  wih  acknowledge  my 
ignorance  and  the  perverte'  joughts  which  are  in 
in  me,  concerning  thy  service.  I  will  believe  in  the 
heavenly  power  of  the  new  life  that  is  in  me  :  I  will 
believe  that  my  lyord  Jesus,  who  Himself  is  my  life, 
will  by  His  Spirit  teach  me  to  know  how  I  can  walk 
in  that  life.     Amen. 

'  Try  now  to  apprehend  and  appropriate  the  following  lessons, 
in  your  heart : — 

1.  It  is  eternal  life,  the  very  life  of  God,  that  you  have  now  re- 
ceived through  faith. 

2.  This  new  life  is  in  Christ,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  in  you 
to  bring  over  to  you  all  that  is  in  Christ.  Christ  lives  in  you 
through  the  Holy  Spirit. 

3.  This  ife  is  a  life  of  wonderful  power.  However  weak  you 
may  feel,  you  must  believe  in  the  Divine  power  of  the  life  that 
is  in  you. 

4.  This  life  has  need  of  time  to  grow  in  you  and  to  take  poS' 
session  of  you.     Give  it  time  :  it  shall  surely  increase. 

5.  Forget  not  that  all  the  laws  and  rules  of  this  new  life  are  in 
conflict  with  all  human  thoughts  of  the  way  to  please  God.  Be 
very  much  in  dread  of  your  own  thoughts,  and  let  Christ,  who 
is  your  life  and  also  your  wisdom,  teach  you  all  things. 

16 


II. 

THE  MILK  OF  THE  WORD. 

"  As  new-bom  babes,  long  for  the  spiritual  milk  that  is  with- 
out guile,  that  ye  may  grow  thereby  unto  salvation." — i  Pet. 
ii.  2. 

BELOVED  young  Christians,  hear  what  your 
Father  has  to  say  in  this  word.  You  have  just  re- 
cently given  yourself  to  the  Lord,  and  have  believed 
that  He  has  received  you.  You  have  thus  received 
the  new  life  from  God,  You  are  now  as  new-born 
infants:  He  would  teach  you  in  this  word  what  is 
necessary  that  you  may  grow  and  wax  strong. 

The  first  point  is  :  you  must  know  that  you  are  GocTs' 
children.  Hear  how  distinctly  Peter  says  this  to 
those  just  converted  : ^  "  You  have  been  born  again, ' ' ' 
''you  are  new-born  infants,"  "you  are  now  con- 
verted" "you  are  now  the  people  of  God."  A  Chris- 
tian, however  young  and  weak  he  is,  must  know  that 
he  is  God's  child.  Then  only  can  he  have  the  cour- 
age to  believe  that  he  shall  make  progress,  and  the 
boldness  to  use  the  food  of  the  children  provided  in 
the  word.  All  Scripture  teaches  us  that  we  must 
know  and  can  know  that  we  are  children  of  God.'^ 

'  I  Pet.  i.  23,  ii.  2,  10.  25. 

2  Rom.  viii.  16  ;  i  Cor.  iii.  1,  16  ;  Gal.  iv.  6,  7  ;  i  John  iii.  2,  14, 
24,  iv.  I  j,  V.  10,  13. 

2  17 


The  New  Life. 

The  assurance  of  faith  is  indispensable  to  a  healthy, 
powerful  growth  in  the  Lord.i 

The  second  point  which  this  word  teaches  you  is  : 
you  are  still  very  weak— weak,  as  new-born  children. 
The  joy  and  the  love  which  a  young  convert  some- 
times experiences  do  indeed  make  him  think  that  he 
is  very  strong.  He  runs  the  risk  of  exalting  himself, 
and  of  trusting  in  what  he  experiences.  He  must 
nevertheless  learn  much  of  how  he  must  become 
strong  in  his  I,ord  Jesus.  Endeavor  to  feel  deeply 
that  you  are  still  young  and  weak.'^  Out  of  this  sense 
of  weakness  comes  the  humility  which  has  nothing* 
in  itself,  and  therefore  expects  all  from  its  Lord.* 

The  third  lesson  is :  l/ie  young-  Christian  7nust 
not  reniaift  weak;  he  must  grow  and  increase  in 
grace;  he  must  make  progress  and  become  strong. 
God  lays  it  upon  us  as  a  command.  His  word  gives 
Tis,  concerning  this  point,  the  most  glorious  promises. 
It  lies  in  the  nature  of  the  thing  :  a  child  of  God  must 
and  can  make  progress.  The  new  life  is  a  life  that  is 
healthy  and  strong :  when  a  disciple  surrenders  him- 
self to  it,  the  growth  certainly  comes.* 

The  fourth  and  principal  lesson — the  lesson  which 
young  disciples  of  Christ  have  most  need  of— is :  it  is 
through  the  milk  of  the  word  that  God's  7iew-born  in- 
fants can  grow.   The  new  life  from  the  Spirit  of  God 

lEph.  V.  8  ;   Col.  ii.  6  ;   i  Pet.  i.  14,  19. 
'i  Cor.  iii.  i,  13  ;  Heb.  v.  13,  14. 

'Matt.  V.  3  ;  Rom.  xii.  3,  10  ;  Eph.  iv.  2  ;  Phil.  ii.  3,  4  ;  Col.  iii.  12. 
*Matt.  viii.  8,  15,  27,  28. 

*  Judg.  V.  31  ;  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  8,  xcii.  13,  14  ;  Prov.  iv.  18  ;  Isa.  xl 
31 ;  Epli.  iv.  14  ;  I  Thess.  iv.  i  ;  2  Pet  iii.  18. 

*i8 


The  Milk  of  the  Word. 

can  be  sustained  only  by  the  word  from  the  mouth  of 
God.  Your  life,  my  young  brother,  will  largely  de- 
pend on  whether  you  learn  to  deal  wisely  and  well 
with  God's  word,  or  whether  you  learn  to  use  the 
word  from  the  beginning  as  your  milk.^ 

See  what  a  charming  parable  the  Lord  has  given 
us  here  in  the  mother's  milk.  Out  of  her  own  life 
does  the  mother  yield  food  and  life  to  her  child.  The 
feeding  of  the  child  is  the  work  of  the  tenderest  love, 
in  which  the  child  is  pressed  to  the  breast,  and  is  held 
in  the  closest  fellowship  with  the  mother.  And  the 
milk  is  just  what  the  weak  child  requires — food  gen- 
tle and  yet  strong. 

Even  so  is  there  in  the  word  of  God  the  very  life 
and  power  of  God.^  His  tender  love  will,  through 
the  word,  receive  us  into  the  gentlest  and  most  inti- 
mate fellowship  with  Himself.^  His  love  will  give 
us  out  of  the  word  what  is,  like  warm,  soft  milk,  just 
fitted  for  our  weakness.  Let  no  one  suppose  that  the 
word  is  too  high  or  too  hard  for  him.  For  the  disci- 
ple who  receives  the  word,  and  trustfully  relies  on 
Jesus  to  teach  him  by  the  Spirit,  the  word  of  God 
shall  practically  prove  to  be  gentle,  sweet  milk  for 
new-born  infants.* 

Dear  young  Christians,  would  you  continue  stand- 
ing, would  you  become  strong,  would  you  always  live 
for  the  Lord  ?    Then  hear  this  day  the  voice  of  your 

1  Ps.  xix.  8,  II,  cxix.  97,  loo  ;  Isa.  Iv.  2   3  ;  i  Cor.  xii.  n. 

2  John  vi.  63  ;   i  Thess.  ii.  13 ;  Heb.  iv.  12. 

3  John  X.  4. 

*Ps.  cxix.  18  ;  John  xiv.  26  ;  Kph.  i.  17,  iG. 

19 


The  New  Life. 

Father:  "As  new-born  babes,  long  for  the  spiritual 
milk  that  is  without  guile."  Receive  this  word  into 
your  heart  and  hold  it  fast  as  the  voice  of  your 
Father :  on  your  use  of  the  word  of  God  will  your 
spiritual  life  depend.  Let  the  word  of  God  be  precious 
to  you  above  everything.^ 

Above  all  forget  not  this:  the  word  is  the  milk; 
the  sucking  or  drinking  on  the  part  of  the  little  child 
is  the  inner,  living,  blessed  fellowship  with  the 
mother's  love.  Through  the  Holy  Spirit  your  use  of 
the  milk  of  the  word  can  become  warm,  living  fellow- 
ship with  the  Living  Love  of  your  God.  O  long  then 
very  eagerly  for  the  milk.  Do  not  take  the  word  as 
something  that  is  hard  and  troublesome  to  under- 
stand :  in  that  way  you  lose  all  delight  in  it.  Receive 
it  with  trust  in  the  love  of  the  living  God.  With  a 
tender,  motherly  love  will  the  Spirit  of  God  teach 
and  help  you  in  your  weakness.  Believe  always  that 
the  Spirit  will  make  the  word  in  you  life  and  joy,  a 
blessed  fellowship  with  your  God. 


Precious  Saviour,  Thou  hast  taught  me  to  believe 
Thy  word,  and  Thou  hast  made  me  by  that  faith  a 
child  of  God.  Through  that  word,  as  the  milk  of  the 
new-born  babes,  wilt  Thou  also  feed  me.  Lord,  for 
this  milk  shall  I  be  very  eager :  every  day  will  I  long 
after  it.  Teach  me,  through  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the 
word,  to  walk  and  hold  converse  every  day  in  living 
fellowship  with  the  love  of  the  Father.    Teach  me 

1  Ps.  cxix.  14,  47,  48,  III,  127. 
20 


The  Milk  of  the  Word. 

always  to  believe  that  the  Spirit  has  been  given  me 
with  the  word.     Amen. 

1.  What  texts  do  you  consider  the  best  for  proving  that  the 
Scriptures  teach  us  that  we  must  know  we  are  children  of  God  ? 

2.  What  are  the  three  points  in  which  the  sucking  child  is  to 
us  a  type  of  the  young  child  in  Christ  in  his  dealing  with  the 
word? 

3.  What  must  a  young  Christian  do  when  he  has  little  bless- 
ing in  the  reading  of  God's  word  ?  He  must  set  himself  through 
faith  in  fellowship  with  Jesus  Himself:  he  must  reckon  that 
Jesus  will  teach  him  through  the  Spirit,  and  so  trustfully  con- 
tinue in  the  reading. 

4.  One  verse  chosen  to  meet  our  needs,  read  ten  times  and 
and  then  laid  up  in  the  heart,  is  better  than  ten  verses  read 
once.  Only  so  much  of  the  word  as  I  actually  receive  and  in- 
wardly appropriate  for  myself,  is  food  for  my  soul. 

5.  Choose  out  for  yourselves  what  you  consider  one  of  the 
most  glorious  promises  about  making  progress  and  becoming 
strong  ;  learn  it  by  heart,  and  repeat  it  continually  as  the  lan- 
guage of  your  positive  expectation. 

6.  Have  you  learned  well  to  understand  what  the  great  means 
for  growth  in  grace  is  ? 

21 


III. 
GOD'S  WORD  IN  OUR  HEART. 

"  Therefore  shall  ye  lay  up  these  My  words  in  your  heart  and 
in  your  soul."— Deut.  xi.  i8. 

"  Son  of  man,  all  My  words  that  I  shall  speak  unto  thee, 
receive  in  thine  heart."— Ezek.  iii.  lo. 

"  Thy  word  have  I  laid  up  iu  mine  heart,  that  I  might  not  sin 
against  Thee."— Ps.  cxix.  ii. 

LONG  for  the  milk  that  ye  may  grow  thereby. 
This  charming  word  taught  every  young  Chris- 
tian that,  if  he  would  grow,  he  must  receive  the  word 
as  milk,  as  the  living  participation  of  the  life  and  the 
love  of  God.  On  this  account  is  it  of  so  great  im- 
portance to  know  well  how  we  must  deal  with  the 
word.  The  Lord  says  that  we  must  receive  it  and  lay 
it  up  in  our  heart. ^  The  word  must  possess  and  fill 
the  heart.     What  does  that  mean  ? 

The  heart  is  the  temple  of  God.  In  the  temple 
there  was  an  outer  court  and  an  inner  sanctuary.  So 
also  is  it  in  the  heart.  The  gate  of  the  court  is  the 
understanding;  what  I  do  not  understand  cannot 
enter  into  the  heart.  Through  the  outer  gate  of  the 
understanding,  the    word    comes    into    the    court.' 

1  Deut.  XXX.  14  ;  Ps.  i.  2,  cxix.  34,  36  ;    Is.  li.  7  ;   John  v.  38,  viiL 
31,  XV.  7 ;  Rom.  x.  8,  9  ;  Col.  iii.  16. 
>  Ps.  cxix.  34  ;  Matt.  xiii.  19  ;  Acts  viii;  30. . 
22 


God's  Word  in  Our  Heart. 

There  it  is  kept  by  memory  and  reflection.^  Still  it 
is  not  yet  properly  in  ^he  heart.  From  the  court 
there  is  an  entrance  into  the  innermost  sanctuary; 
the  entrance  of  the  door  is  faith.  "What  I  believe 
that  I  receive  into  my  heart  ^  Here  it  then  becomes 
held  fast  in  love  and  in  the  surrender  of  the  will. 
Where  this  takes  place,  there  the  heart  becomes  the 
sanctuary  of  God.  His  law  is  there,  as  in  the  ark, 
and  the  soul  cries  out:  "Thy  law  is  within  my 
heart."' 

Young  Christian,  God  has  asked  your  heart,  your 
love,  your  whole  self.  You  have  given  yourself  to 
Him.  He  has  received  you,  and  would  have  you  and 
your  heart  entirely  for  Himself.  He  will  make  that 
heart  full  of  His  word.  What  is  in  the  heart  one 
holds  dear,  becaus*^  one  thinks  continually  on  that 
which  gives  joy.  God  would  have  the  word  in  the 
heart.  Where  His  word  is,  there  is  He  Himself  and 
His  might.  He  considers  Himself  bound  to  fulfil 
His  word ;  when  you  have  the  word,  you  have  God 
Himself  to  work  in  you.*  He  wills  that  you  should 
receive  and  lay  up  His  words  in  your  heart :  then 
will  He  greatly  bless  you.^ 

How  I  wish  that  I  could  bring  all  young  Christians 
to  receive  simply  that  word  of  their  Father,  "  Lay  up 
My  words  in  your  heart,"  and  to  give  their  whole 

1  Ps.  cxix.  15,  16. 

2  John  V.  38  ;  Acts  viii.  37  ;  Rom.  x.  10,  17. 
'^x.  XXV.  16 ;  Ps.  xxxvii.  31,  xl.  9  ;  Col.  iii.  16. 
<  Gen.  xxi.  i  ;  Josh,  xxiii.  14. 

6  Deut.  xi.  10,  xxviii.  1,  2  ;  Ps.  i.  2,  3,  cxix.  14,  45,  98,  165  ;  John 
xvii.  6,  8,  17. 

23 


The  New  Life. 

heart  to  become  full  of  God's  word.  Resolve  then  to 
do  this.  Take  pains  to  understand  what  you  read. 
When  you  understand  it,  take  then  always  one  or 
another  word  to  keep  in  remembrance  and  ponder. 
Learn  words  of  God  by  heart ;  repeat  them  to  your- 
self in  the  course  of  the  day.  The  word  is  seed  ;  the 
seed  must  have  time,  must  be  kept  in  the  ground  :  so 
must  the  word  be  carried  in  the  heart.  Gi\ns  the 
best  powers  of  your  heart,  your  love,  your  desire,  the 
willing  and  joyful  activity  of  your  will,  to  Gods 
word.  "Blessed  is  the  man  whose  delight  is  in  the 
law  of  the  Lord ;  and  in  His  law  doth  he  meditate 
day  and  night. ' '  Let  the  heart  be  a  temple,  not  for 
the  world  and  its  thoughts,  but  for  God  and  His 
thoughts.'  He  that,  every  day,  faithfully  opens  his 
heart  to  God's  voice  to  hear  what  God  says,  and 
keeps  and  carries  about  that  word,  shall  see  how 
faithfully  God  also  shall  open  His  heart  to  our  voice, 
to  hear  what  we  say  to  Him  in  prayer. 

Dear  Christian,  pray  read  yet  once  again  the  words 
at  the  head  of  this  section.  Receive  them  as  God's 
word  to  you — the  word  of  the  Father  who  has  re- 
ceived you  as  a  child,  of  Jesus  who  has  made  you 
God's  child.  God  asks  of  you,  as  His  child,  that  you 
give  your  heart  to  become  filled  with  His  word.  Will 
you  do  this  ?  What  say  you  ?  The  Lord  Jesus  would 
complete  His  holy  work  in  you  with  power  along 
this  way.'^  Let  your  answer  be  distinct  and  continu- 
ous :  "  I  have  hid  Thy  word  in  my  heart ;  "  "  How 

*  Ps.  cxix.  69 ;  John  xv.  3,  7,  x^-ii.  6,  8,  17. 
'  John  xiv.  21,  23  ;  i  John  ii.  14,  24  ;  Rev.  iii.  8,  xo, 
24 


God's  Word  in  Our  Heart. 

love  I  Thy  law:  it  is  my  meditation  all  the  day." 
Even  if  it  appears  difficult  for  you  to  understand  the 
word,  read  it  only  the  more.  The  Father  has  prom- 
ised to  make  it  a  blessing  in  your  heart.  But  you 
must  first  take  it  into  your  heart.  Believe  then  that 
God  will  by  the  Holy  Spirit  make  it  living  and  pow- 
erful in  you. 

O  my  Father,  who  hast  said  to  me  :  "My  son,  give 
Me  thine  heart,"  I  have  given  Thee  mine  heart. 
Now  that  Thou  chargest  me  to  lay  up  and  to  keep 
Thy  word  in  that  heart,  I  answer:  "  I  keep  Thy  com- 
mands with  my  whole  heart."  Father,  teach  me 
every  day  so  to  receive  Thy  word  in  my  heart  that  it 
can  exercise  there  its  blessed  influence.  Strengthen 
me  in  the  deep  conviction  that  even  though  I  do  not 
actually  apprehend  its  meaning  and  power,  I  can  still 
reckon  on  Thee  to  make  the  word  living  and  power- 
ful in  me.     Amen. 

1.  What  is  the  difference  between  the  reading  of  the  word  to 
increase  knowledge  and  the  receiving  of  it  in  faith  ? 

2.  The  word  is  as  a  seed.  Seed  requires  time  ere  it  springs  up. 
During  this  time  it  must  be  kept  silently  and  constantly  in  the 
earth.  I  must  not  only  read  God's  word,  but  ponder  it  and  re- 
flect upon  it :  then  shall  it  work  in  me.  The  word  must  be  in 
me  the  whole  day,  must  abide  in  me,  must  dwell  in  me. 

3.  What  are  the  reasons  that  the  word  of  God  sometimes  has  so 
little  power  in  those  that  read  it  and  really  long  for  blessing  ?  One 
of  the  principal  reasons  is  surely  that  they  do  not  give  the  seed 
time  to  grow,  that  they  do  not  keep  it  and  reflect  upon  it,  in  the 
believing  assurance  that  the  word  itself  shall  have  its  working. 

4.  What  is  the  token  of  His  disciples  that  Jesus  mentions  first 
in  the  high-priestly  prayer?    (John  xvii.) 

5.  What  are  the  blessings  of  a  heart  filled  with  the  word  of  God  ? 

25 


IV. 

FAITH. 

"  Blessed  is  she  that  believed  ;  for  there  shall  be  a  fulfilment 
of  the  things  which  have  been  spoken  to  her  from  the  lyOrd."— 
IvUKK  i.  45. 

"I  believe  God,  that  it  shall  be  even  so  as  it  hath  been  spoken 
unto  me." — Acts  xxvii.  25. 

"  Abraham  waxed  strong  through  faith,  being  fully  assured 
that  what  He  had  promised,  he  was  able  also  to  perform."— 
Rom.  iv.  21. 

GOD  has  asked  you  to  take  and  lay  up  His  words 
in  your  heart.  P'aith  is  the  proper  avenue 
whereby  the  word  is  taken  and  received  into  the 
innermost  depths  of  the  heart.  Let  the  young  Chris- 
tian then  take  pains  always  to  understand  better  what 
faith  is  :  he  will  thereby  gain  an  insight  into  the  rea- 
sons why  such  great  things  arc  bound  up  with  faith. 
He  will  yield  his  perfect  assent  to  the  view  that  full 
salvation  is  made  every  day  dependent  on  faith .^ 

Let  me  now  ask  my  reader  to  read  over  once  again 
the  three  texts  which  stand  above,  and  to  find  out 
what  is  the  principal  thought  that  they  teach  about 
faith.  Pray,  read  nothing  actually  beyond  them,  but 
read  first  these  words  of  God,  and  ask  yourself  what 
they  teach  you  about  faith. 

They  make  us  see  that  faith  always  attaches  itself 

1 1  Chron.  xx.  20 ;  Mark.  ix.  23  ;  Heb.  xi.  33,  35  ;  i  John  v.  4,  5. 
26 


Faith. 

to  what  God  has  said  or  promised.  Wheu  an  honor- 
able man  says  anything,  he  also  does  it :  on  the  back 
of  the  saying  follows  the  doing.  So  also  is  it  with 
God :  when  He  would  do  anything,  He  says  so  first 
through  His  word.  When  the  man  of  God  becomes 
possessed  with  this  conviction  and  established  in  it, 
God  always  does  for  Him  what  He  has  said.  With 
God,  speaking  and  doing  always  go  together:  the 
deed  follows  the  word  :  "  Shall  He  say  it  and  not  do 
it?"  1  When  I  have  a  word  of  God  in  which  He 
promises  to  do  something,  I  can  always  remain  sure 
that  He  will  do  it.  I  have  simply  to  take  and  hold 
fast  the  word,  and  therewith  wait  upon  God :  God 
will  take  care  that  He  fulfils  His  word  to  me.  Before 
I  ever  feel  or  experience  anything,  I  hold  fast  the 
promise,  and  I  know  by  faith  that  God  will  make  it 
good  to  me.* 

What,  now,  is  faith?  Nothing  other  than  the  cer- 
titude that  what  God  says  is  true.  When  God  says 
that  something  subsists  or  is,  then  does  faith  rejoice, 
although  it  sees  nothing  of  it.'  When  God  says  that 
He  has  given  me  something,  that  something  in  heaven 
is  mine,  I  know  by  faith  with  entire  certitude  that  it 
is  mine.*  When  God  says  that  something  shall  come 
to  pass,  or  that  He  will  do  something  for  me,  this  is 

1  Gen.  xxi.  i,  xxxii.  12  ;  Num.  xiv.  17,  18,  20,  xxiii.  19 ;  Josh. 
xxi.  45,  xxiii.  14 ;  2  Sam.  vii.  25,  29  ;  i  Chron.  viii.  15,  24 ;  Ps. 
odx.  49. 

2  lyuke  i.  38,  45 ;  John  iii.  33,  iv.  50,  xi.  40,  xx.  29 ;  Heb.  a. 
XX.  x8. 

3  Rom.  L  17,  iv.  5,  V.  I ;  Gal.  iii.  27;  Eph.  i.  19,  iii.  17. 
*  John  iiL  16,  17,  36 ;  i  John  v.  12,  13. 

27 


The  New  Life. 

for  faith  just  as  good  as  if  I  had  seen  it.i  Things 
that  are,  but  that  I  have  not  seen,  and  things  that 
are  not  yet,  but  shall  come,  are  for  faith  entirely  sure. 
* '  Faith  is  the  assurance  of  things  hoped  for,  the 
proving  of  things  not  seen."  ^  Faith  always  asks 
only  for  what  God  has  said,  and  then  relies  on  His 
faithfulness  and  power  to  fulfil  His  word. 

Let  us  now  review  again  the  words  of  Scripture. 
Of  Mary  we  read  :  "  Blessed  is  she  that  believed  ;  for 
there  shall  be  a  fulfilment  of  the  things  which  have 
been  spoken  to  her  from  the  Lord."  All  things  that 
have  been  spoken  in  the  word  shall  be  fulfilled  for 
me :  so  I  believe  them. 

Of  Abraham  it  is  reported  that  he  was  fully  assured 
that  that  which  had  been  promised,  God  was  also  able 
to  fulfil.  This  is  assurance  of  faith  :  to  be  assured 
that  God  will  do  what  He  has  promised. 

Exactly  thus  is  it  in  the  word  of  Paul :  "  I  believe 
God  that  it  shall  be  even  so  as  it  hath  been  spoken 
unto  me."  It  stood  fixed  with  him  that  God  would 
do  what  He  had  spoken. 

Young  disciples  in  Christ,  the  new,  the  eternal  life 
that  is  in  you  is  a  life  of  faith.  And  do  you  not  see 
how  simple  and  how  blessed  that  life  of  faith  is  ?  I 
go  every  day  to  the  word  and  hear  there  what  God 
has  said  that  He  has  done  and  will  do.^  I  take  time 
to  lodge  in  my  heart  the  word  in  which  God  says 
that,  and  I  hold  it  fast,  entirely  assured  that  what 

1  Rom.  viii.  38  ;  PhU.  iii.  21 ;  i  Thess.  v.  24  ;  i  Pet.  i.  4,  5. 
s  Heb.  xi.  I. 
«  Gal.  ii.  20,  iii.  2,  5,  v.  5,  6  ;  Heb.  x.  35  ;  i  Pet.  i.  8. 


Faith. 

God  has  promised,  He  is  able  to  perform.  And  then 
in  a  childlike  spirit  I  await  the  fulfilment  of  all  the 
glorious  promises  of  His  word.  And  my  soul  experi- 
ences :  Blessed  is  she  that  believed ;  for  the  things 
that  have  been  spoken  to  her  from  the  Lord  shall  be 
fulfilled.  God  promises — I  believe — God  fulfils:  that 
is  the  secret  of  the  new  life. 


O  my  Father,  Thy  child  thanks  Thee  for  this 
blessed  life  of  faith  in  which  we  have  to  walk.  I 
can  do  nothing,  but  Thou  canst  do  all.  All  that  Thou 
canst  do  hast  Thou  spoken  in  Thy  word.  And  every 
word  that  I  take  and  trustfully  bring  to  Thee,  Thou 
fulfiUest.  Father,  in  this  life  of  faith,  so  simple,  so 
glorious,  will  I  walk  with  Thee.     Amen. 

1.  The  Christian  must  read  and  search  the  Scriptures  to  in- 
crease his  knowledge.  For  this  purpose  he  daily  reads  one  or 
more  principal  portions.  But  he  reads  the  Scriptures  also  to 
strengthen  his  faith.  And  to  this  end  he  must  take  one  or  two 
verses  to  make  them  the  subject  of  special  reflection,  and  to 
appropriate  them  trustfully  for  himself 

[The  Prayer  and  Bible  Union  has  been  established  in  order  to 
be  a  help  towards  the  regular  reading  of  the  Bible.  Kvery  year 
is  issued  an  Almanac  with  a  chapter  from  the  Old  Testament 
for  the  morning,  and  half  a  chapter  out  of  the  New  for  the 
evening.  And  for  the  morning  there  is  also  given  a  verse  for 
reflection.  Make  application  to  your  minister  or  to  the  secre- 
tary, Dr.  J.  J.  Maquard,  of  Bethulie.] 

2.  Pray,  do  not  suffer  yourselves  to  be  led  astray  by  those  who 
speak  as  if  faith  were  something  great  and  unintelligfible.  Faith 
is  nothiiig  other  than  the  certitude  that  God  speaks  truth.  Take 
some  promises  of  God  and  say  to  Him  :  I  know  for  certain  that 
this  promise  is  truth,  and  that  Thou  wilt  fulfil  it.    He  will  do  it. 

3.  Never  mourn  over  unbelief  as  if  it  were  only  a  weakness 

29 


The  New  Life. 

which  you  cannot  help.  As  God's  child,  however  weak  yotl 
may  be,  you  have  the  power  to  believe,  for  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
in  you.  You  have  only  to  keep  in  mind  this  :  no  one  apprehends 
anji^hing  before  that  he  has  the  power  to  believe ;  he  must  simply 
begrin  and  continue  with  saying  to  the  I^ord  that  he  js  sure  that 
His  word  is  truth.  He  must  hold  fast  the  promise  and  rely  upon 
God  for  the  fulfilment. 

30 


V. 
THE  POWER  OF  GOD'S  WORD. 

"  Faith  Cometh  of  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  the  word  of 
Christ."— Rom.  x.  17. 

"  Receive  with  meekness  the  im^planted  word,  which  is  able 
to  save  your  souls." — J  as.  i.  21. 

"  We  also  thank  God  without  ceasing,  that,  when  ye  received 
from  us  the  word  of  the  message,  even  the  word  of  God,  ye  ac- 
cepted it  not  as  the  word  of  men,  but,  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  word 
of  God,  which  also  worketh  in  you  that  believe."— 1  Thess.  ii.  13. 

"  For  the  word  of  God  is  living  and  active."— Heb.  iv.  12. 

THE  new  life  of  a  child  of  God  depends  so  much 
on  the  right  use  of  God's  word,  4liat--i~shall-" 
once  again  speak  of  it  with  tny-yx>»»g' brothers  and 
Ms^^rft-in  the  Lord. 

It  is  a  great  thing  when  the  Christian  discerns  that 
he  can  receive  and  accomplish  all  only  through  faith. 
He  has  only  to  believe  ;  God  will  look  to  the  fulfill- 
ing of  what  is  promised.  He  has  every  morning  to 
trust  in  Jesus,  and  the  new  life  as  given  in  Jesus  and 
working  in  himself;  Jesus  will  see  to  it  that  the  new 
life  works  in  him. 

But  now  he  runs  the  risk  of  another  error.  He 
thinks  that  the  faith  that  does  such  great  things 
must  be  something  great,  and  that  he  must  have  a 
gfreat  power  in  order  to  exercise  such  a  great  taith.^ 

1  Ivuke  XA'ii.  5,  6 ;  Rom.  x.  6,  7,  8. 
31 


The  New  Life. 

And,  because  he  does  not  feel  this  power,  he  thinks 
that  he  cannot  believe  as  he  ought.  This  error  may- 
prove  a  loss  to  him  his  life  long. 

Come  and  hear,  then,  how  perverted  this  thought 
is.  You  must  not  bring  this  mighty  faith  to  get  the 
word  fulfilled,  but  the  word  comes  and  brings  you 
this  faith  which  you  must  have.  "The  word  is 
living  and  powerful."  The  word  works  faith  in  you. 
The  Scripture  says,  "  Faith  is  by  the  word."  ^ 

Think  on  what  we  have  said  of  the  heart  as  a  tem- 
ple, and  of  its  two  divisions.  There  is  the  outer 
court,  with  the  understanding  as  its  gate  or  entrance. 
There  is  the  innermost  sanctuary,  with  the  faith  of 
the  heart  as  its  entrance.  There  is  a  natural  faith  ■ 
the  historic  faith  -  which  every  man  has ;  with  this 
must  I  first  receive  the  word  into  my  keeping  and 
consideration.  I  must  say  to  myself,  "  The  word  of 
God  is  certainly  true.  I  can  make  a  stand  upon  it." 
Thus  I  bring  the  word  into  the  outer  court,  and  from 
within  the  heart  desire  reaches  out  to  it,  seeking  to 
receive  it  into  the  heart.  The  word  now  exercises  its 
divine  power  of  life ;  it  begins  to  grow  and  shoot  out 
roots.  As  a  seed  which  I  place  in  the  earth  sends 
forth  roots  and  presses  still  deeper  into  the  soil,  the 
word  presses  inwardly  into  the  holy  place.  The 
word  thus  works  true  saving  faith. ^ 

Young  Christian,  pray  understand  this.  The  word 
is  living  and  powerful ;  through  the  word  you  are 
bom  again.     The  word  works  faith  in  you;  through 

*Rom.  X.  17;  Heb.  iv.  12. 

'x  Thess.  ii.  13  ;  Jas.  i.  21  ;  i  Pet.  i.  23. 

3a 


The  Power  of  God's  Word. 

the  word  comes  faith.  Receive  the  word  simply 
with  the  thought  that  it  will  work  in  you.  Keep 
yourselves  occupied  with  the  word,  and  give  it  time. 
The  word  has  a  divine  life  in  i^^self ;  carry  it  in  your 
inmost  parts,  and  it  will  work  life  in  you.  It  will 
work  in  you  a  faith  strong  and  able  for  anything. 

O  be  resolved  then,  pray,  never  to  say,  I  cannot 
believe.  You  can  believe.  You  have  the  Spirit  of 
God  in  you.  Even  the  natural  man  can  say,  This 
word  of  God  is  certainly  true  or  certainly  not  true. 
And  when  he  with  a  desire  of  the  soul  says,  "It  is 
true;  I  will  believe  it,"  the  living  Spirit,  through 
whom  the  word  is  living  and  powerful,  works  this 
living  faith.  Besides,  the  Spirit  is  not  only  in  the 
word,  but  also  in  you.  Although  you  do  not  feel  as 
if  you  were  believing,  know  for  certain  you  can  be- 
lieve.^ Begin  actually  to  receive  the  word;  it  will 
work  a  mighty  faith  in  you.  Rely  upon  it,  that 
when  you  have  to  do  with  God's  word,  you  have  to 
do  with  a  word  that  can  be  surely  trusted  that  it  of 
itself  works  faith  in  you. 

And  not  only  the  promises,  but  a' so  the  commands 
have  this  living  power.  When  I  first  receive  a  com- 
mand from  God,  it  is  as  if  I  felt  no  power  to  accom- 
plish it.  But  if  I  then  simply  receive  the  word  as 
God's  word,  which  works  in  those  that  believe, — if  I 
trust  in  the  word  to  have  its  working,  and  in  the 
living  God  which  g^ves  it  its  operation, — that  com- 
mandment will  work  in  me  the  desire  and  the  power 
for  obedience.  When  I  weigh  and  hold  fast  the  com- 
1  Deut.  zxxii.  46,  47  ;  Josh.  i.  7,  9. 

3  33 


The  New  Life. 

mand,  it  works  the  desire  and  the  will  to  obey;  it 
urges  me  strongly  towards  the  conviction  that  I  can 
certainly  do  what  my  Father  says.  The  word  works 
both  faith  and  obedience.  The  obedience  of  the 
Christian  is  the  obedience  of  faith.  I  must  believe 
that  through  the  Spirit  I  have  the  power  to  do  what 
God  wills,  for  in  the  word  the  power  of  God  works 
in  me.  The  word,  as  the  command  of  the  living 
God  who  loves  me,  is  my  power.' 
pTherefore,  young  disciples  in  Christ,  learn  to  receive 
hod's  word  trustfully.  Although  you  do  not  at  first 
/understand  it,  continue  to  meditate  upon  it.  It  has 
fa  living  power  in  it ;  it  will  glorify  itself.  Although 
you  feel  no  power  to  believe  or  to  obey,  the  word  is 
.living  and  powerful.  Take  it,  and  hold  it  fast;  it 
i  will  accomplish  its  work  with  divine  power.  The 
t  word  rouses  and  strengthens  for  faith  and  obedience. 


Lord  God,  I  begin  to  conceive  how  Thou  art  in 
Thy  word  with  Thy  life  and  Thy  power,  and  how 
that  word  itself  works  faith  and  obedience  in  the 
heart  that  receives  and  keeps  it.  Lord,  teach  me  to 
carry  Thy  every  word  as  a  living  seed  in  my  heart, 
in  the  assurance  that  it  shall  work  in  me  all  Thy 
good  pleasure. 

I.  Forget  not  that  it  is  one  and  the  same  to  believe  in  the 
word,  or  in  the  person  that  speaks  the  word,  or  in  the  thing 
which  is  promised  in  the  word.  The  very  same  faith  that  re- 
,  ceives  the  promises  receives  also  the  Father  who  promises,  and 

1  Rom.  i.  3,  xvi.  6  ;  Gal.  vi,  6  ;  i  Thess.  i.  3  ;  Jas.  i.  21. 

34 


The  Power  of  God's  Word. 

the  Son  with  the  salvation  which  is  given  in  the  promises.  Pray 
see  to  it  that  you  never  separate  the  word  and  the  living  God 
from  each  other. 

2.  See  to  it  also  that  you  apprehend  thoroughly  the  distinction 
betwixt  the  reception  of  the  word  "  as  the  word  of  man  "  and 
"  as  the  word  of  God,  which  works  in  you  that  believe." 

3.  I  think  that  you  now  know  what  is  necessary  to  become 
strong  in  faith.  Exercise  as  much  faith  as  you  have.  Take  a 
promise  of  God.  Say  to  yourself  that  it  is  certainl}'  true.  Go 
to  God  and  say  to  Him  that  you  rely  on  Him  for  the  fulfilment. 
Ponder  the  promise,  and  cleave  to  it  in  converse  with  God. 
Rely  upon  Him  to  do  for  you  what  He  says.     He  will  surely  do  it. 

4.  The  Spirit  and  the  word  always  go  together.  I  can  be  sure 
concerning  all  of  which  the  word  says  that  I  must  do  it,  that  I 
also  can  do  it  through  the  Spirit.  I  must  receive  the  word  and 
also  the  command  in  the  confidence  that  it  is  the  living  word  of 
the  living  God  which  also  works  in  us  who  believe. 

35 


VI. 
GOD'S  GIFT  OF  HIS  SON. 

"  For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only-begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  beUeveth  on  Him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  eternal  life."— John  iii.  i6. 

"  Thanks  be  to  God  for  His  unspeakable  gift."— 2  Cor.  ix.  15. 

THUS  dear  did  God  hold  the  world.  How  dear? 
That  He  gave  His  only-begotten  Son  for  every 
one  in  the  world  who  will  trust  in  Him.  And  how 
did  He  give?  He  gave  Him,  in  His  birth  as  man,  in 
order  to  be  for  ever  one  with  us.  He  gave  Him,  in 
His  death  on  the  cross  as  Surety,  in  order  to  take  our 
sin  and  curse  upon  Himself.  He  gave  Him  on  the 
throne  of  heaven,  in  order  to  arrange  for  our  welfare, 
as  our  Representative  and  Intercessor  over  all  the 
powers  of  heaven.  He  gave  Him  in  the  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit,  in  order  to  dwell  in  us,  to  be  entirely 
and  altogether  our  own.i  Yes;  that  is  the  love  of 
God,  that  He  gave  His  Son  to  us,  for  us,  in  us. 

Nothing  less  than  His  Son  Himself.  This  is  the 
love  of  God ;  not  that  He  give  us  something,  but  that 
He  gives  us  some  one — a  living  person — not  one  or 
another  blessing,  but  Him  in  whom  is  all  life  and 
blessing— Jesus  Himself.     Not  simply  forgiveness,  or 

1  John  i.  14.  16,  xiv.  23  ;  Rom.  v.  8,  viii.  32,  34  ;  ^ph.  i.  22,  iii.  17; 
Col.  ii.  9,  10 ;  Heb.  vii.  24,  26  ;  i  John  iv.  9,  10. 
36 


God's  Gift  of  His  Son. 

revival,  or  sanctification,  or  glory  does  He  give  us; 
but  Jesus,  His  own  Son.  The  Lord  Jesus  is  the  be- 
loved, the  equal,  the  bosom-friend,  the  eternal  blessed- 
ness of  the  Father.  And  it  is  the  will  of  the  Father 
that  we  should  have  Jesus  as  ours,  even  as  He  has 
Him.^  For  this  end  He  gave  Him  to  us.  The  whole 
of  salvation  consists  in  this  :  to  have,  to  possess,  to 
enjoy  Jesus.  God  has  given  His  Son,  given  Him 
wholly  to  become  ours.^ 

What  have  we,  then,  to  do?  To  take  Him,  to 
receive  and  to  appropriate  to  ourselves  the  gift,  to 
enjoy  Jesus  as  our  own.  This  is  eternal  life.  **  He 
that  hath  the  Son  hath  life."  ^ 

How  I  do  wish,  then,  that  all  young  Christians 
may  understand  this.  The  one  great  work  of  God's 
love  for  us  is,  He  gives  us  His  Son.  In  Him  we  have 
all.  Hence  the  one  great  work  of  our  heart  must  be 
to  receive  this  Jesus  who  has  been  given  to  us,  to 
consider  Him  and  use  Him  as  ours.  I  must  begin 
every  day  anew  with  the  thought,  I  have  Jesus  to  do 
all  for  me.*  In  all  weakness  or  darkness  or  danger, 
in  the  case  of  every  desire  or  need,  let  your  first 
thought  always  be,  I  have  Jesus  to  make  everything 
right  for  me,  for  God  has  given  Him  to  me.  Whether 
your  need  be  forgiveness  or  consolation  or  confirma- 
tion, whether  you  have  fallen,  or  are  tempted  to  fall, 
into  danger,  whether  you  know  not  what  the  will  of 

iMatt.  xi.  27 ;  John  xvii.  23,  25  ;  Rom.  viii.  38,  39 ;  Heb.  ii.  11. 

2  Ps.  Ixxiii.  25,  cxlii.  6  ;  John  xx.  28  ;  Heb.  iii.  14. 

3  John  i.  12  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  13,  5  ;  Col.  ii.  6 ;  John  v.  12. 

*  John  XV.  5  ;  Rom.  viii.  37 ;  i  Cor.  i.  30  ;  Eph.  i.  3,  ii.  10  ;  Phil, 
iv.  13  ;  2  Tim.  i.  12. 

37 


The  New  Life. 

God  is  in  one  or  another  matter,  or  know  that  you 
have  not  the  courage  and  the  strength  to  do  this  will, 
let  this  always  be  your  first  thought,  the  Father  has 
given  me  Jesus  to  care  for  me. 

For  this  purpose,  reckon  upon  this  gift  of  God 
every  day  as  yours.  It  has  been  presented  to  you  in 
the  word.  Appropriate  the  Son  in  faith  on  the  word. 
Take  Him  anew  every  day.  Through  faith  you  have 
the  Son.^  The  love  of  God  has  given  the  Son. 
Take  Him,  and  hold  Him  fast  in  the  love  of  your 
heart.*  It  is  to  bring  life,  eternal  life,  to  you  that 
God  has  given  Jesus.  Take  Him  up  into  your  life  ; 
let  heart  and  tongue  and  whole  walk  be  under  the 
might  and  guidance  of  Jesus.^  Young  Christian,  so 
weak  and  so  sinful,  listen,  pray,  to  that  word.  God 
has  given  you  Jesus.  He  is  yours.  Taking  is  noth- 
ing else  but  the  fruit  of  faith.  The  gift  is  for  me. 
He  will  do  all  for  you. 


O  my  Lord  Jesus,  to-day  anew,  and  every  day,  I 
take  Thee.  In  all  Thy  fulness,  in  all  Thy  relations, 
without  ceasing,  I  take  Thee  for  myself.  Thee,  who 
art  my  Wisdom,  my  Light,  my  Leader,  I  take  as  my 
Prophet.  Thee,  who  dost  perfectly  reconcile  me, 
and  bring  me  near  to  God,  who  dost  purify  and  sanc- 
tify me  and  pray  for  me,  I  take  as  my  Priest.  Thee, 
who  dost  guide  and  keep  and  bless  me,  I  take  as  my 

1  John  i.  12  ;  1  John  v.  9,  13. 
2 1  John  iv.  4,  19. 
3  2  Cor.  V.  IS  ;  PhU.  iii.  8. 
38 


God^sGiftofHis  Son. 

King.  Thou,  Lord,  art  All,  and  Thou  art  wholly  mine. 
Thanks  be  to  God  for  His  unspeakable  gift.  •  Amen. 

1.  Ponder  much  the  word  Give.  God  gives  in  a  wonderful 
way  :  from  the  heart,  completely  for  nothing,  to  the  unworthy. 
And  He  gives  effectually.  What  He  gives  He  will  really  make 
entirely  our  possession,  and  inwardly  appropriate  for  us.  Be- 
lieve this,  and  you  shall  have  the  certitude  that  Jesus  will,  to 
the  full,  come  into  your  possession,  with  all  that  He  brings. 

2.  Ponder  much  also  that  other  word  Take.  To  take  Jesus, 
and  to  hold  Him  fast  and  use  Him  when  received,  is  our  great 
work.  And  that  taking  is  nothing  but  trusting.  He  is  mine 
with  all  that  He  has.  Take  Jesus— the  full  Jesus— every  day  as 
yours.    This  is  the  secret  of  the  life  of  faith. 

3.  Then  weigh  well  also  the  word  Have.  "  He  that  hath  the 
Son  hath  light."  What  I  have  is  mine,  for  my  use  aud  service. 
I  can  dispose  of  it,  and  can  have  the  full  enjoyment  of  it.  "  He 
that  hath  the  Son  hath  life.'' 

4.  Mark  especially  that  what  God  gives,  and  what  you  take, 
and  what  you  now  have,  is  nothing  less  than  the  living  Son  of 
God. 

Do  you  receive  this? 

39 


VII. 
JESUS'  SURRENDER  OF  HIMSEI.F. 

"  Christ  also  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  Himself  up  for  it ; 
that  He  might  sanctify  it ;  that  He  might  present  the  Church 
to  Himself  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle  ;  but 
that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish."— E)ph.  v.  25-27. 

SO  great  and  wonderful  was  the  work  that  Jesus 
had  to  do  for  the  sinner,  that  nothing  less  was 
necessary  than  that  He  should  give  Himself  to  do 
that  work.  So  great  and  wonderful  was  the  love  of 
Jesus  towards  us,  that  He  actually  gave  Himself  for 
us  and  to  us.  So  great  and  wonderful  is  the  sur- 
render of  Jesus,  that  all  that  same  thing  for  which 
He  gave  Himself  can  actually  and  completely  come 
to  pass  in  us.  For  Jesus,  the  Holy,  the  Almighty, 
has  taken  it  upon  Himself  to  do  it :  He  gave  Him- 
self for  us.i  And  now  the  one  thing  that  is  neces- 
sary is  that  we  should  rightly  understand  and  firmly 
believe  this  His  surrender  for  us. 

To  what  end,  then,  was  it  that  He  gave  Himself  for 
the  Church?  Hear  what  God  says.  In  order  that 
He  might  sanctify  it,  in  order  that  it  might  be  with- 
out blemish.'  This  is  the  aim  of  Jesus.  This  His 
aim  He  will  reach  in  the  soul  according  as  the  soul 

1  Gal.  i.  4,  ii.  20  ;  Eph.  v.  2,  25  ;  i  Tim.  ii.  6  ;  Titus  ii.  14. 
*  Eph.  i  4,  v.  27  ;  Col.  i.  22  ;  i  Thess.  ii.  10,  iii.  13,  v.  23,  24. 
40 


Jesus'  Surrender  of  Himself. 

falls  in  with  it  so  as  to  make  this  also  its  highest  por- 
tion, and  then  relies  upon  Jesus'  surrender  of  Him- 
self to  do  it. 

Hear  still  a  word  of  God :  '  *  Who  gave  Himself  for 
us,  that  He  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and 
purify  unto  Himself  a  people  for  His  own  possession, 
zealous  of  good  works."  ^  Yes:  it  is  to  prepare  for 
Himself  a /»z^r<?  people,  a  people  of  His  ow7i,  a  zeal- 
ous people,  that  Jesus  gives  Himself.  When  I  receive 
Him,  when  I  believe  that  He  gave  Himself  to  do  this 
for  me,  I  shall  certainly  experience  it.  I  shall  be 
purified  through  Him,  shall  be  held  fast  as  His  pos- 
session, and  be  filled  with  zeal  and  joy  to  work  for 
Him. 

And  mark,  further,  how  the  operation  of  this  sur- 
render of  Himself  will  especially  be  that  He  shall  then 
have  us  entirely  for  Himself:  ''that  He  might  pre- 
sent us  to  Himself,"  "that  He  might  purify  us  to 
Himself,  a  people  of  His  own."  The  more  I  under- 
stand and  contemplate  Jesus'  surrender  of  Himself 
for  me,  the  more  do  I  give  myself  again  to  Him. 
The  surrender  is  a  mutual  one :  the  love  comes  from 
both  sides.  His  giving  of  Himself  makes  such  an  im- 
pression on  my  heart  that  my  heart  with  the  self-same 
love  and  joy  becomes  entirely  His.  Through  giving 
Himself  to  me,  He  of  Himself  takes  possession  of  me; 
He  becomes  mine  and  I  His.  I  know  that  I  have  Jesus 
•wholly  for  me,  and  that  He  has  me  wholly  for  Him.^ 

1  Titus  ii.  14. 

2  Ex.  xix.  4,  5  ;  Deut.  xxvi.  17,  18 ;  Isa.  xli.  9,  10  ;  i  Cor.  vi.  19, 
80 ;  I  Pet.  ii.  10. 

41 


The  New  Life. 

And  liow  come  I  then  to  the  full  enjojonent  of  this 
blessed  life?  "I  live  in  faith,  the  faith  which  is  in 
the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and  gave  himself  up 
for  me."  ^  Through  faith  I  reflect  upon  and  contem- 
plate His  surrender  to  me  as  sure  and  glorious. 
Through  faith  I  appropriate  it.  Through  faith  I 
trust  in  Jesus  to  confirm  this  surrender,  to  communi- 
cate Himself  to  me  and  reveal  Himself  within  me. 
Through  faith  I  await  with  certainty  the  full  experi- 
ence of  salvation  which  arises  from  having  Jesus  as 
mine,  to  do  all — all  for  me.  Through  faith  I  live  in 
this  Jesus  who  loved  me  and  gave  Himself  for  me. 
And  I  say,  "No  longer  do  I  live,  but  Christ  liveth  in 
me."  Christian,  pray  believe  it  with  your  whole 
heart :  Jesus  gives  Himself  for  you :  He  is  wholly 
yours:  He  will  do  all  for  you.* 


0  my  Lord  Jesus,  what  wonderful  grace  is  this, 
that  Thou  gavest  Thyself  for  me.  In  Thee  is  eternal 
life.  Thou  Thyself  art  the  life  and  Thou  givest  Thy- 
self to  be  in  my  life  all  that  I  need.  Thou  purifiest 
me  and  sanctifiest  me,  and  makest  me  zealous  in 
good  works.  Thou  takest  me  wholly  for  Thyself, 
and  givest  Thyself  wholly  for  me.  Yes,  my  Lord,  in 
all  Thou  art  my  life.  O  make  me  rightly  understand 
this.     Amen. 

1  John  vi.  29,  35,  vii.  38,  x.  10,  38  ;  Gal.  ii.  20. 

2  Matt.  viii.  10,  ix.  2,  22  ;  Mark  xi.  24  ;  I^uke  vii.  50,  viii.  48,  xvil; 
19,  xviii.  42  ;  Rom.  iv.  16,  ai,  v.  2,  xi.  20 ;  Gal.  iii.  25,  26  ;  Eph.  i 
19,  iii.  17. 

42 


Jesus*  Surrender  of  Himself. 


1.  It  was  in  His  great  love  that  the  Father  gave  the  Son.  It 
was  out  of  love  that  Jesus  gave  Himself.  (Rom.  iii.  i6  ;  Eph.  v. 
26.)  The  taking,  the  having  of  Jesus,  is  the  entrance  to  a  life  in 
the  love  of  God  :  this  is  the  highest  life.  (John  xiv.  21,  23,  xvii. 
23,  26  ;  Kph.  iii.  17,  18.)  Through  faith  we  must  press  into  love, 
and  dwell  there,     (i  John  iv.  16-18.) 

2.  Do  you  think  that  you  have  now  learned  all  the  lesson,  to 
begfin  every  day  with  the  child-like  trust :  I  take  Jesus  this  day 
to  be  my  life,  and  to  do  all  for  me. 

3.  Understand  that  to  take  and  to  have  Jesus,  presupposes  a 
personal  dealing  with  Himself.  To  have  pleasure  in  Him,  to 
hold  converse  gladly  with  him,  to  rejoice  in  Him  as  my  friend 
and  in  His  love — to  this  leads  the  faith  that  truly  takes  Him. 

43 


VIII. 
CHILDREN  OF   GOD. 

"  As  many  as  received  Him,  to  thein  gave  He  the  right  to 
become  children  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name." 
— John  i.  12. 

WHAT  is  given  must  be  received,  otherwise  it 
does  not  profit.  If  the  first  great  deed  of 
God's  love  is  the  gift  of  His  Son,  the  first  work  of 
man  must  be  to  receive  this  Son.  And  if  all  the 
blessings  of  God's  love  come  to  us  only  in  the  ever- 
new,  ever-living  Son  of  the  Father,  all  these  blessings 
enter  into  us  from  day  to  day  through  the  always- 
new,  always-continuing  reception  of  the  Son. 

What  is  necessary  for  this  reception,  3'ou,  beloved 
young  Christians,  know,  for  you  have  already  received 
the  Lord  Jesus.  But  all  that  this  reception  involves 
must  become  clearer  and  stronger,  the  unceasing 
living  action  of  your  faith. ^  Herein  especially  con- 
sists the  increase  of  faith.  Your  first  receiving  of 
Jesus  rested  on  the  certitude  which  the  word  gave 
you,  that  He  was  for  you.  Through  the  word  must 
your  soul  be  still  further  filled  with  the  assurance 
that  all  that  is  in  Him  is  literally  and  really  for  you, 
given  by  the  Father  in  Him  to  be  your  life. 

The  impulse  to  your  first  receiving  was  found  io 
1  2  Cor.  X.  15  ;  I  Thess.  i.  8,  iii.  10  ;  2  Thess.  i.  3. 
44 


Children  of  God. 

your  want  and  necessity.  Through  the  Spirit  you 
become  still  poorer  in  spirit,  and  you  see  still  more 
how  you  have  need  of  Jesus  for  everything  everj- 
moment :  this  leads  to  a  ceaseless,  ever-active  taking 
of  Him  as  your  all  ^ 

Your  first  receiving  consisted  in  nothing  but  the 
appropriation  by  faith  of  what  you  could  not  yet  see 
or  feel.  The  same  faith  must  be  continually  exer- 
cised in  saying :  all  that  I  see  in  Jesus  is  for  me  :  I 
take  it  as  mine,  although  I  do  not  yet  experience  it. 
The  love  of  God  is  a  communicating,  a  ceaseless  out- 
streaming  of  His  light  of  life  over  the  soul,  a  very 
powerful  and  veritable  giving  of  Jesus:  our  life  is 
nothing  but  a  continuous  blessed  apprehension  and 
reception  of  Him.^ 

And  this  is  the  way  to  live  as  children  of  God  :  as 
many  as  receive  Him,  to  them  gives  He  the  power  to 
become  children  of  God.  This  holds  true,  not  only 
of  conversion  and  regeneration,  but  of  every  day  of 
my  life.  If  to  walk  in  all  things  as  a  child  of  God, 
and  to  exhibit  the  image  of  my  Father,  is  indispensa- 
ble, I  must  take  Jesus  the  only-begotten  Son :  it  is 
He  that  makes  me  a  child  of  God.  To  have  Jesus 
Himself,  to  have  the  heart  and  life  full  of  Him,  is 
the  way  to  live  as  a  child  of  God.  I  go  to  the  word 
and  learn  there  all  the  characteristics  of  a  child  of 
God  ;  ^  and  after  each  one  of  them  I  write :  this  Jesus 

^Matt.  V.  3  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  lo,  13,  16,  vi.  10;  Eph.  iv.  14,  15;  Col. 
ii.  6. 

2  John  i.  16  ;    Col.  ii.  9,  10,  iii.  3. 

3 1  Matt.  V.  9,  16,  44,  45  ;  Rom.  viii.  14  ;  Eph.  i.  4,  5,  v.  i,  2  ;  Phil- 
ii.  15  ;  Heb.  ii.  10  ;  i  Pet.  i.  14,  17  ;  i  John  iii.  i,  10,  v.  i,  3. 

45 


The  New  Life. 

shall  work  in  me :  I  have  Him  to  make  me  to  be  a 
child  of  God. 

Beloved  young  Christian  learn,  I  beseech  you,  to 
understand  the  simplicity  and  the  glory  of  being  a 
true  Christian.  It  is  to  receive  Jesus,  to  receive  Him 
in  all  His  fulness,  to  receive  Him  in  all  the  glorious 
relations  in  which  the  Father  gives  Him  to  you. 
Take  Him  as  your  Prophet,  as  your  Wisdom,  your 
Light,  your  Guide.  Take  Him  as  your  Priest,  who 
renews  you,  purifies  you,  sanctifies  you,  brings  you 
near  to  God,  takes  you  and  forms  you  wholly  for  His 
service.  Take  Him  as  your  King  who  governs  you, 
protects  you  and  blesses  you.  Take  him  as  your 
Head,  your  Exemplar,  your  Brother,  your  Life,  your 
All.  The  giving  of  God  is  a  divine,  an  ever-progres- 
sive and  effectual  communication  to  your  soul.  Let 
your  taking  be  the  child-like,  cheerful,  continuous 
opening  of  mouth  and  heart  for  what  God  gives,  the 
full  Jesus  and  all  His  grace.  To  every  prayer  the 
answer  of  God  is :  Jesus,  all  is  in  Him,  all  in  Him  is 
for  you.  Let  your  response  always  be:  Jesus,  in  Him 
I  have  all.  You  are,  you  live  in  all  things  as  "  child- 
ren of  God,  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ." 


O  my  Father,  open  the  eyes  of  my  heart  to  under- 
stand what  it  is  to  be  a  child  of  God :  to  live  always 
as  a  child  through  always  believing  in  Jesus,  Thine 
only  Son.  O  let  every  breath  of  my  soul  be,  faith  in 
Jesus,  a  confidence  in  Him,  a  resting  in  Him,  a  sur- 
render to  Him,  to  work  all  in  me. 
46 


Children  of  God. 

If  by  the  grace  of  God  you  now  know  that  you  have  received 
fesus  and  are  God's  child,  you  must  now  take  pains  to  make 
His  salvation  known.  There  is  many  a  one  who  longs  to  know 
and  cannot  find  out  how  he  can  become  a  child  of  God. 

Endeavor  to  make  two  things  plain  to  him.  First,  that  the 
■new  birth  is  something  so  high  and  holy  that  he  can  do  nothing 
in  it.  He  must  receive  eternal  life  from  God  through  the  Spirit: 
lie  must  be  born  from  above.  This  Jesus  teaches.  (John  iii.  i-8.) 
Then  make  plain  to  him  how  low  God  has  descended  to  us  with 
this  new  life,  and  how  near  He  brings  it  to  us.  In  Jesus  there 
is  life  for  every  one  who  believes  in  Him.  This  Jesus  teaches. 
<John  iii.  14-18.)  And  this  Jesus  and  the  life  are  in  the  word. 
Tell  the  sinner  that,  when  he  takes  the  word,  he  then  has 
Jesus,  and  life  in  the  word.  (Rom.  x.  8.)  O  do,  pray,  take  pains 
to  tell  forth  the  glad  tidings  that  we  become  children  of  God 
only  through  faith  in  Jesus, 

47 


IX. 
OUR  SURRENDER  TO  JESUS. 

**  They  gave  their  own  selves  to  the  Lord." — 2  Cor.  viii.  5. 

IN  the  surrender  of  Jesus  for  me,  I  have  the  chief 
element  of  what  He  has  done  and  always  does  for 
me.  In  my  surrender  to  Him  I  have  the  chief  ele- 
ment of  what  He  would  have  me  to  do.  For  young 
Christians  who  have  given  themselves  to  Jesus,  it  is 
a  matter  of  great  moment  always  to  hold  fast,  to  con- 
firm and  renew  this  surrender.  This  is  the  special 
life  of  faith,  to  say  anew  every  day :  I  have  given 
myself  to  Him,  to  follow  Him  and  to  serve  Him :  * 
He  has  taken  me  :  I  am  His,  and  entirely  at  His  ser- 
vice.' 

Young  Christian,  hold  firm  your  surrender,  and 
make  it  always  firmer.  When  there  recurs  a  stum- 
bling or  a  sin  after  j^ou  have  surrendered  yourself, 
think  not  the  surrender  was  not  sincere.  No  :  the 
surrender  to  Jesus  does  not  make  us  perfect  at  once. 
You  have  sinned,  because  you  were  not  thoroughly  or 
firmly  enough  in  His  arms.  Adhere  to  this,  although 
it  be  with  shame  :  Lord,  Thou  knowest  it,  I  have 

1  Matt.  iv.  22,  X.  24,  25,  37,  38  ;  I,uke  xviii.  22  ;  John  xii.  25,  26, 
2  Cor.  V.  15. 

'  Matt,  xxviii.  20. 

48 


Our  Surrender  to  Jesus. 

given  myself  to  Thee  :  I  am  Thine.  ^  Confirm  this 
surrender  anew.  Say  to  Him  that  you  now  begin  to 
see  better  how  complete  the  surrender  to  Him  must 
be,  and  renew  every  day  the  voluntary,  entire,  and 
undivided  offering  up  of  yourselves  to  Him.'^ 

The  longer  we  continue  Christians,  the  deeper  will 
be  our  insight  into  that  word :  surrender  to  Jesus. 
We  shall  always  see  more  clearly  that  we  do  not  yet 
fully  understand  or  contemplate  it.  The  surrender 
must  become,  especially,  more  undivided  and  trustful. 
The  language  which  Ahab  once  used  must  be  ours : 
"  According  to  thy  saying,  my  lord,  O  king,  I  am 
thine,  and  all  that  I  have  "  (i  Kings  xx.  4).  This  is 
the  language  of  undivided  dedication :  I  am  thine, 
and  all  that  I  have.  Keep  nothing  back.  Keep  back 
no  single  sin  that  you  do  not  confess  and  leave  off. 
Without  conversion  there  can  be  no  surrender.'  Keep 
back  no  single  power.  Let  your  head  with  all  its 
thinking,  your  mouth  with  all  its  speaking,  your 
heart  with  all  its  feeling,  your  hand  with  all  its  work- 
ing— let  your  time,  your  name,  your  influence,  your 
property,  let  all  be  laid  upon  the  altar.*  Jesus  has  a 
right  to  all :  He  demands  the  whole.  Give  yourself, 
with  all  that  you  have,  to  be  guided,  and  used  and 
kept,  sanctified  and  blessed.  "According  to  Thy 
word,  my  I/ord,  O  King,  I  am  Thine,  and  all  that  I 
have. ' ' 

1  John  xxi.  17 ;  Gal.  vi.  i ;  i  Thess.  v.  24  ;  a  Tim.  ii.  13 ;  i  John 
V.  16. 

2  Luke  xviii.  28  ;  Phil.  iii.  7,  8. 

3  Matt.  viL  21,  27  ;  John  iii.  20,  21  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  19,  21. 

*  Rom.  vi.  13,  22,  xii.  i  ;  2  Cor.  v.  15 ;  Heb.  xiii,  15  ;  i  Pet.  ii.  5. 

4  49 


The  New  Life. 

That  is  the  language  of  trustful  dedication.  It  is 
on  the  word  of  the  Lord,  which  calls  upon  you  to 
surrender  yourself,  that  you  have  done  this.  That 
word  is  your  warrant  that  He  will  take  and  guide  and 
keep  you.  As  surely  as  you  give  yourself,  does  He 
take  you ;  and  what  He  takes  He  can  keep.  Only, 
we  must  not  take  it  again  out  of  His  hand.  Let  it 
remain  fixed  with  you  that  your  surrender  is  in  the 
highest  degree  pleasing  to  Him:  be  certain  of  it, 
your  oflfering  is  a  sweet-smelling  savor.  Not  on  what 
you  are,  or  what  you  experience  or  discover  in  your- 
selves, do  you  say  this,  but  on  His  word.  According 
to  His  word,  you  are  able  to  take  a  stand  on  this: 
what  you  give,  that  He  takes ;  and  what  He  takes, 
that  He  keeps. ^  Therefore  every  day  anew,  let  this 
be  the  childlike  joyful  activity  of  your  life  of  faith  : 
you  surrender  yourselves  without  ceasing  to  Jesus, 
and  you  are  safe  in  the  certitude  that  He  in  His  love 
takes  and  holds  you  fast,  and  that  His  answer  to  your 
giving  is  the  renewed  and  always  deeper  surrender  of 
Himself  to  you. 


According  to  Thy  word,  my  Lord  and  King,  I  am 
Thine,  and  all  that  I  have.  Every  day,  this  day,  will 
I  confirm  it,  that  I  am  not  mine  own,  but  am  my 
Lord's.  Fervently  do  I  beseech  Thee  to  take  full 
possession  of  Thy  property,  so  that  no  one  may  doubt 
whose  I  am.     Amen. 

I.  Ponder  now  once  again  the  words  giving  and  taking  and 
having.    What  I  g^ive  to  Jesus,  He  takes  with  a  divine  taking. 

1  John  X.  28 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  3 ;  2  Tim.  i.  12. 

50 


Our  Surrender  to  Jesus. 

And  what  He  takes,  He  has  and  thereafter  cares  for.  Now  it  is 
absolutely  no  longer  mine.  I  must  not  take  thought  for  it ;  I 
may  not  dispose  of  it.  O  pray,  let  your  faith  find  expression  in 
adoration  :  Jesus  takes  me  :  Jesus  has  me. 

2.  Should  there  overtake  you  a  time  of  doubting  or  darkness 
whereby  your  assurance  that  the  I,ord  has  received  you  has 
come  to  be  lost,  suffer  not  yourself  thereby  to  be  dispirited. 
Come  simply  as  a  sinner,  confess  your  sins :  believe  in  His  prom- 
ises that  He  will  by  no  means  cast  out  those  that  come  to  Him 
and  begin  simply  on  the  ground  of  the  promises  to  say  :  I  know 
that  He  has  received  me. 

3.  Forget  not  what  the  chief  element  in  surrender  is  :  it  is  a 
surrender  to  Jesus  and  to  His  love.  Fix  your  eye,  not  upon  your 
activity  in  surrender,  but  upon  Jesus,  who  calls  you,  who  takes 
you,  who  can  do  all  for  you.    This  it  is  that  makes  faith  strong. 

4.  Faith  is  always  a  surrender.  Faith  is  the  eye  for  seeing  the 
invisible.  When  I  look  at  something,  I  surrender  myself  to  the 
impression  which  it  makes  upon  me.  Faith  is  the  ear  that 
hearkens  to  the  voice  of  God.  When  I  believe  a  message,  I  sur- 
render myself  to  the  influence,  cheering  or  saddening,  which 
the  tidings  exercises  upon  me.  When  I  believe  in  Jesus,  I  sur- 
render myself  to  Him,  in  reflection,  in  desire,  in  expectation,  in 
order  that  He  may  be  in  me  and  do  that  for  which  He  has  been 
given  to  me  by  God. 

51 


A  SAVIOUR  FROM  SIN. 

"  Thou  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus  ;  for  it  is  He  that  shall  save 
His  people  from  their  sins." — Matt.  i.  21. 

"  Ye  know  that  He  was  manifested  to  take  away  sins  ;  and  in 
Him  is  no  sin.  Whosoever  abideth  in  Him  sinneth  not." — i 
John  iii.  5,  6. 

IT  is  sin  that  is  the  cause  of  our  misery.  It  is  sin 
that  provoked  God,  and  brought  His  curse  upon 
man.  He  hates  sin  with  a  perfect  hatred,  and  will 
do  everything  to  root  it  out.  ^  It  is  to  take  away  sin 
that  God  gave  His  Son,  that  Jesus  gave  Himself  ^  It 
belongs  to  God  to  set  us  free,  not  only  from  punish- 
ment and  curse,  from  disquietude  and  terror,  but 
from  sin  itself.^  You  know  that  He  was  manifested 
that  He  might  take  away  our  sins.  Let  us  receive 
the  thought  deep  into  our  hearts ;  it  is  for  God  to 
take  away  our  sins  from  us.  The  better  we  appre- 
hend this,  the  more  blessed  shall  our  life  be. 

All  do*  not  receive  this.  They  seek  chiefly  to  be 
freed  from  the  consequences  of  sin,  from  fear  and 
darkness,  and  the  punishment  that  sin  brings.*    Just 

1  Deut.  xxvii.  26  ;  Isa.  lix.  1,2;  Jer.  xliv.  4  ;  Rom.  i.  18. 

2  Gal.  ii.  4  ;  Kph  v.  25,  27  ;  i  Pet.  ii.  24  ;  i  John  iii.  8. 

3  Jer.  xxvii.  9  ;  i  Pet.  i.  2,  15,  16,  ii.  14  ;  i  John  iii.  8. 

4  Gen.  xxvii.  34  ;  Isa.  Iviii.  5,  6  ;  John  vi.  26  ;  Jas.  iv.  3. 

52 


A  Saviour  from  Sin. 

on  this  account  they  do  not  come  to  the  true  rest  of 
salvation.  They  do  not  understand  that  to  save  is  to 
free  from  sin.  Let  us  hold  it  fast.  Jesus  saves  through 
taking  away  sin.     Then  we  shall  learn  two  things. 

The  first  is  to  come  to  Jesus  with  every  sin.^  The 
sin  that  still  attacks  and  overmasters  you,  after  that 
you  have  given  yourself  over  to  the  Lord,  must  not 
make  you  lose  heart.  There  must  also  be  no  en- 
deavor merely  in  your  own  strength  to  take  away  and 
overcome  sin.  Bring  every  sin  to  Jesus.  He  has 
been  ordained  by  God  to  take  away  sin.  He  has 
already  brought  it  to  nought  upon  the  cross,  and 
broken  its  power.^  It  is  His  work,  it  is  His  desire  to 
set  you  free  from  it.  O  learn  then  always  to  come  to 
Jesus  with  every  sin.  Sin  is  your  deadly  foe :  if  you 
confess  it  to  Jesus,  and  surrender  it  to  Him,  you  shall 
certainly  overcome  it.' 

Learn  to  believe  this  firmly :  this  is  the  second 
point.  Understand  that  Jesus,  Jesus  Himself,  is  the 
Saviour  from  sin.  It  is  not  you  that  must  overcome 
sin  with  the  help  of  Jesus,  but  Jesus  Himself :  Jesus 
in  you.*  If  you  would  thus  become  free  from  sin,  if 
you  would  enjoy  full  salvation,  let  it  be  the  one  en- 
deavor of  your  life  to  stand  always  in  full  fellowship 
with  Jesus.  Wait  not  till  you  enter  into  temptation 
ere  you  have  recourse  to  Jesus.  But  let  your  life  be- 
Torehand  be  always  through  Jesus.     Let  His  nearness 

1  Ps.  xxxii.  5  ;  L,uke  vii.  38,  xix.  7,  8,  10  ;  John  viii.  11,  xxxiv.  36. 

SHeb.  ix,  26. 

'  Rom.  vii.  4,  9,  viii.  2  ;  2  Cor.  xii.  9  ;  2  Thess.  ii.  3. 

*Deut.  viii.  17,  18;  Ps.  xliv.  4,  8  ;  John  xvi.  33  ;  i  John  v.  4,  5. 

5o 


The  New  Life. 

be  your  one  desire ;  Jesus  saves  from  sin ;  to  have 
Jesus  is  salvation  from  sin.^  O  that  we  could  indeed 
rightly  understand  this  !  Jesus  will  not  merely  save 
from  sin  as  a  work  that  He  will  from  time  to  time  do 
in  us,  but  He  will  give  it  as  a  blessing  through  Him- 
self to  us  and  in  us.'^  When  Jesus  fills  me,  when 
Jesus  is  all  for  me,  sin  has  no  hold  on  me  :  "  He  that 
abideth  in  Him  sinneth  not." 

Yes  :  sin  is  driven  out  and  kept  out  only  through 
the  presence  of  Jesus.  It  is  Jesus,  Jesus  Himself, 
that,  through  His  giving  Himself  to  me  and  His 
living  in  me,  is  salvation  from  sin. 


Precious  Lord,  let  Thy  light  stream  over  me,  and 
let  it  become  still  clearer  to  my  soul,  that  Thou, 
Thou  Thyself,  art  my  salvation.  To  have  Thee, 
Thee,  with  me,  in  me — this  keeps  sin  out.  Teach  me 
to  bring  every  sin  to  Thee ;  let  every  sin  drive  me 
into  a  closer  alliance  with  Thee.  Then  shall  Thy 
Jesus-name  become  truly  my  salvation  from  sin. 
Amen. 

1.  See  of  what  moment  it  is  that  the  Christian  should  always 
grow  in  the  knowledge  of  sin.  The  sin  that  I  do  not  know,  I 
cannot  bring  to  Jesus.  The  sin  that  I  do  not  bring  to  Him  is 
not  taken  out  of  me. 

2.  To  know  sin  better  there  are  required  : 

The  constant  prayer,  "Examine  me:"  make  kno^n  to  me 
my  transgression  and  my  sin  (Job  xiii.  23  ;  Ps.  cxxxix.  23,  24), 

A  tender  conscience  that  is  willing  to  be  convinced  of  sin 
through  the  Spirit,  as  He  also  uses  the  conscience  for  this  end ; 

» I  Cor.  XV.  10 ;  Gal.  ii.  20  -,  Phil.  iv.  13  ;  Col.  iii.  3-5. 

'  Ex.  xxix  43  ;  John  xv.  4,  5  ;  Rom.  -nii.  10  ;  Eph.  iii.  17,  18. 

54 


A  Saviour  from  Sin. 


The  very  humble  surrender  to  the  word,  to  think  concerning 
sin  only  as  God  thinks. 

3,  The  deeper  knowledge  of  sin  will  be  found  in  these  results  : 
That  we  shall  see  to  be  sin  things  which  previously  we  did 

not  regard  in  this  light ; 

That  we  shall  perceive  more  the  exceedingly  sinful,  the  de- 
testable character  of  sin  (Rom.  vii.  13); 

That  with  the  overcoming  of  external  sins  we  become  all  the 
more  encouraged  over  the  deep  sinfulness  of  our  nature,  of  the 
enmity  of  our  flesh  against  God.  Then  we  give  up  hope  of  being 
or  of  doing  anything  good,  and  we  are  turned  wholly  to  live  in 
faith  through  the  Spirit. 

4.  O  let  us  thank  God  very  heartily  that  Jesus  is  a  Saviour 
from  sin.  The  power  that  sin  has  had  over  us,  Jesus  now  has. 
The  place  that  sin  has  taken  in  the  heart,  Jesus  will  now  take. 
"  The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  has  made  us  fre« 
from  the  law  of  sin  and  death." 

55 


XI. 
THE  CONFESSION  OF  SIN. 

"  If  we  confess  our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  righteous  to  for* 
give  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness."— 
X  John  i.  9. 

THE  one  thing  that  God  hates,  that  grieves  Him, 
that  He  is  provoked  by,  and  that  He  will 
destroy,  is  sin,  The  one  thing  that  makes  man  un- 
happy, is  sin.^  The  one  thing  for  which  Jesus  had 
to  give  His  blood  was  sin.  In  all  the  intercourse  be- 
twixt the  sinner  and  God,  this  is  thus  the  first  thing 
that  the  sinner  must  bring  to  his  God— sin. * 

When  you  came  to  Jesus  at  first,  you  perceived  this 
in  some  measure.  But  you  should  learn  to  under- 
stand this  lesson  more  deeply.  The  one  counsel  con- 
cerning sin  is,  to  bring  it  daily  to  the  only  One  who 
can  take  it  away — God  Himself.  You  should  learn 
that  one  of  the  greatest  privileges  of  a  child  of  God 
is — the  confession  of  sin.  It  is  only  the  holiness  of 
God  that  can  consume  sin  ;  through  confession  I 
must  hand  over  my  sin  to  God,  lay  it  down  in  God, 
get  quit  of  it  to  God,  cast  it  into  the  fiery  oven  of 
God's  holy  love  which  burns  against  sin  like  a  fire, 

iQen.  vi.  5,  6  ;  Isa.  xliii.  24  ;  E)zek.  xxxiii.  6  :  Rev.  vi.  16,  17. 
sjudg.  X.  10,  15,  16  ;  2  Chron.  xvii.  14;  Ezra  ix.  6  ;  Neh.  ii.  33, 
i*'  2,  33  ;  Jer.  ilL  21,  25  ;  Dan.  ix.  4,  s.  20. 

56 


The  Confession  of  Sin. 

God,  yes,  God  Himself,  and  He  alone,  takes  away 
sin.i 

This  the  Christian  does  not  always  understand.  He 
has  an  inborn  tendency  to  desire  to  cover  sin,  or  to 
make  it  less,  or  to  root  it  out  only  when  he  purposes 
drawing  near  to  God.  He  thinks  to  cover  sin  with 
his  repentance  and  self-blame,  with  scorn  of  the 
temptation  that  came  to  him,  or  otherwise  with  what 
he  has  done  or  still  hopes  to  do.''  Young  Christian, 
if  you  would  enjoy  the  gladness  of  a  complete  for- 
giveness and  a  divine  cleansing  of  sin,  see  to  it  that 
you  use  aright  the  confession  of  sin.  In  the  true  con- 
fession of  sin  you  have  one  of  the  most  blessed  priv- 
ileges of  a  child  of  God,  one  of  the  deepest  roots  of  a 
powerful  spiritual  life. 

For  this  end,  let  your  confession  be  a  definite  one.' 
The  continued  indeterminate  confession  of  sin  does 
more  harm  than  good.  It  is  much  better  to  say  to 
God  that  you  have  nothing  to  confess,  than  to  con- 
fess you  know  not  what.  Begin  with  one  sin.  Let 
it  come  to  a  complete  harmony  betwixt  God  and  you 
concerning  this  one  sin.  Let  it  be  fixed  with  you 
that  this  sin  is  through  confession  placed  in  God's 
hands.  You  shall  experience  that  in  such  confession 
there  are  both  power  and  blessing. 

Let  the  confession   be  an  upright  one.*      By  it 

*  I/CV.  vi.  ai  ;  Num.  v.  7  ;  2  Sam.  xii.  13 ;  Ps.  xxxii.  5,  xxxviii. 
19,  IL  5, 19. 

2  Gen.  iii.  12;  Kx  xxxii.  22,  24  ;  Isa.  i.  11,  15  ;  I^uke  xiii.  26. 

*Nu«!i.  x>\  II-  acxi.  7  ,-  2  Sam.  xxiv.  10,  17  ;  Isa.  lix.  12,  13  ;  I^uke 
kxUi.  41 ;  Acis  xix.  18,  19,  xxii.  19,  20  ;  i  Tim.  i.  13,  15. 

■'Prove  »xviiL  ^3    Lev.  xzvi.  40,  41  ;  Jer.  xxxi.  18,  19. 

57 


The  New  Life. 

deliver  up  the  sinful  deed  to  be  laid  aside.  By  it 
deliver  up  the  sinful  feeling  with  a  view  to  trusting 
in  God.  Confession  implies  renunciation,  the  put- 
ting off  of  sin.  Give  up  sin  to  God,  to  forgive  it  to 
you,  and  to  cleanse  you  from  it.  Do  not  confess,  if 
you  are  not  prepared,  if  you  do  not  heartily  desire  to 
to  be  freed  from  it.  Confession  has  value  only  as  it 
is  a  giving  up  of  sin  to  God. 

Let  the  confession  be  trustful.^  Reckon  firmly 
upon  God  actually  to  forgive  you,  and  also  to  cleanse 
you  from  sin.  Continue  in  confession,  in  casting  the 
sin  of  which  you  desire  to  be  rid  into  the  fire  of  God's 
holiness  until  your  soul  has  the  firm  confidence  that 
God  takes  it  on  His  own  account  to  forgive  and  to 
cleanse  away.  It  is  this  faith  that  really  overcomes 
the  world  and  sin :  the  faith  that  God  in  Jesus  really 
emancipates  from  sin. ^ 

Brother,  do  you  understand  it  now?  "What  must 
you  do  with  sin — with  every  sin  ?  To  bring  it  in  con- 
fession to  God,  to  give  it  to  God ;  God  alone  takes 
away  sin. 

Lord  God,  what  thanks  shall  I  express  for  this 
unspeakable  blessing,  that  I  may  come  to  Thee  with 
sin  ?  It  is  known  to  Thee,  Lord,  how  sin  before  Thy 
holiness  causes  terror  and  flight.  It  is  known  to 
Thee  how  it  is  our  deepest  thought,  first  to  have  sin 
covered,  and  then  to  come  to  Thee  with  our  desire 
and  endeavor  for  good.     Lord,  teach  me  to  come  to 

1  2  Sam.  xii.  13  ;  Ps.  xxxii.  5  ;  Isa.  Iv.  7. 

2  1  John  V.  5,  ii.  12. 

58 


The  Confession  of  Sin. 

Thee  with  sin,  every  sin,  and  in  confession  to  lay  it 
down  before  Thee  and  give  it  up  to  Thee.     Amen. 

1.  What  is  the  distinction  betwixt  the  covering  of  sin  by  God 
and  by  man  ?    How  does  man  do  it  ?    How  does  God  do  it? 

2.  What  are  the  great  hindrances  in  the  way  of  the  confession, 
of  sin? 

Ignorance  about  sin. 
Fear  to  come  with  sin  to  the  holy  God. 
The  endeavor  to  come  to  God  with  something  good. 
Unbelief  in  the  power  of  the  blood  and  in  the  riches 
of  grace. 

3.  Must  I  immediately  confess  an  oath  or  a  lie  or  a  wrong 
word,  or  wait  until  my  feeling  has  first  cooled  and  become 
rightly  disposed  ?  O  pray  confess  it  immediately  ;  come  in  full 
sinfulness  to  God,  without  first  desiring  to  make  it  less  ! 

4.  Is  it  also  necessary  or  good  to  confess  before  man  ?  It  is 
indispensable,  if  our  sfn  has  been  against  man.  And,  besides, 
it  is  often  good  ;  it  is  often  easier  to  acknowledge  before  God 
than  before  man  that  I  have  done  something.    (Jas.  v.  16.) 

59 


XII. 
THE  FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS. 

*'  Blessed  is  he  whose  transgression  is  forgiven,  whose  sin  is 
covered." — Ps.  xxxii.  i. 

"  Bless  the  lyord,  O  my  soul  ....  who  forgiveth  all  thine 
iniquities." — Ps.  ciii.  2,  3. 

IN  connection  with  surrender  to  the  Lord,  it  was 
said  that  the  first  great  blessing  of  the  grace  of 
God  was  this — the  free,  complete,  everlasting  for- 
giveness of  all  your  sins.  For  the  young  Christian 
it  is  of  great  moment  that  he  should  stand  fast  in  this 
forgiveness  of  his  sins,  and  always  carry  the  cer- 
titude of  it  about  with  him.  To  this  end,  he  must 
especially  consider  the  following  truths. 

The  forgiveness  of  our  sin  is  a  complete  forgive- 
ness.' God  does  not  forgive  by  halves.  Even  with 
man,  we  reckon  a  half  forgiveness  no  true  forgiveness. 
The  love  of  God  is  so  great,  and  the  atonement  in 
the  blood  of  Jesus  so  complete  and  powerful,  that 
God  always  forgives  completely.  Take  time  with 
God's  word  to  come  under  the  full  impression  that 
your  guilt  has  been  blotted  out  wholly  and  altogether. 
God  thinks  absolutely  no  more  of  your  sins.     "I 

^  Ps.  ciii.  12  ;  Isa.  xxxviii.  17,  Iv.  7 ;  Micah  vii.  18,  19 ;  Heb.  x. 
16-18. 

60 


The  Forgiveness  of  Sins. 

will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  their  sin  will  I  re- 
member no  more."  ^ 

The  forgiveness  of  our  sin  restores  us  entirely  again 
to  the  love  of  God.^  Not  only  does  God  not  impute 
sin  any  more, — that  is  but  one-half, — but  He  reckons 
to  us  the  righteovsness  of  Jesus  also,  so  that  for  His 
sake  we  are  as  dear  to  God  as  He  is.  Not  only  is 
wrath  turned  away  from  us  but  the  fulness  of  love  now 
rests  upon  us.  "I  will  love  them  freely,  for  Mine  anger 
is  turned  away  from  him. ' '  Forgiveness  is  access  to  all 
the  love  of  God.  On  this  account  forgiveness  is  also 
introduction  to  all  the  other  blessings  of  redemption. 

Live  in  the  full  assurance  of  forgiveness,  and  let 
the  Spirit  fill  your  heart  with  the  certitude  and  the 
blessedness  of  it,  and  you  shall  have  great  confidence 
in  expecting  all  from  God.  Ivcarn  from  the  word  of 
God,  through  the  Spirit,  to  know  God  aright,  and  to 
trust  Him  as  the  ever-forgiving  God.  That  is  His 
name  and  His  glory.  To  one  to  whom  much,  yea, 
all  is  forgiven,  He  will  also  give  much.  He  will  give 
all.^  Let  it  therefore  be  every  day  your  joyful 
thanksgiving.  "  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  who  for- 
giveth  all  mine  iniquities."  Then  forgiveness  be- 
comes the  power  of  a  new  life  :  "  He  who  is  forgiven 
much  loves  much. ' '  The  forgiveness  of  sins,  received 
anew  in  living  faith  every  day,  is  a  bond  that  binds 
anew  to  Jesus  and  His  service.* 

^  Jer.  xxxi.  34 ;  Heb.  viii.  12,  x.  17. 

2Hos.  xiv.  5  ;   lyuke  xv.  22  ;    Acts  xxvi.  18  ;    Rom.  v.  i,  5. 
'Ps.  ciii.  3  ;  Isa.  xii.  i,  3  ;  Rom.  v.  10,  viii.  32;  Eph.  i.  7,  iii.  5. 
*  John  xiii.  14, 15  ;    Rom.  xii.  i  ;    i  Cor.  vi.  20  ;    Eph.  v.  2$,  26 ; 
Tit.  a,  14  ;  I  Pet.  i.  17,  18. 

61 


The  New  I^ife. 

Then  tlie  forgiveness  of  former  sins  always  gives 
courage  to  go  immediately  anew  with  every  new  sin 
and  trustfully  to  take  forgiveness.^  l/ook,  however, 
to  one  thing:  the  certitude  of  forgiveness  must  not 
be  a  matter  of  memory  or  understanding,  but  the 
fruit  of  life — living  converse  with  the  forgiving 
Father,  with  Jesus  in  whom  we  have  forgiveness.^ 
It  is  not  enough  to  know  that  I  once  received  for- 
giveness :  my  life  in  the  love  of  God,  my  living 
intercourse  with  Jesus  by  faith — this  makes  the  for- 
giveness of  sin  again  always  new  and  powerful — the 
joy  and  the  life  of  my  soul. 


Lord  God,  this  is  the  wonder  of  Thy  grace,  that 
Thou  art  a  forgiving  God.  Teach  me  every  day  to 
know  in  this  anew  the  glory  of  Thy  love.  I^et  the 
Holy  Spirit  every  day  seal  forgiveness  to  me  as  a 
blessing,  everlasting,  ever-fresh,  living  and  powerful. 
And  let  my  life  be  as  a  song  of  thanksgiving. 
"  Bless  the  Ivord,  O  my  soul,  who  forgiveth  all  thine 
iniquities."     Amen. 

1.  At  bottom,  forgiveness  is  one  with  justification.  Forgive- 
ness is  the  word  that  looks  more  to  the  relation  of  God  as 
Father.  Justification  looks  more  to  His  acquittal  as  Judge. 
Forgiveness  is  a  word  that  is  more  easily  understood  by  the 
young  Christian.  But  he  must  also  endeavor  to  understand  the 
word  justification,  and  to  obtain  part  in  all  that  the  Scripture 
teaches  about  it. 

1  Fx.  xxxiv.  6,  7  ;  Matt,  xviii.  21 ;  I^uke  i.  77,  78. 
2Fph.  ii.  13,  18  ;  Phil.  iii.  9  ;    Col.  i.  21,  22. 
62 


The  Forgiveness  of  Sins. 


».  About  justification  we  must  understand — 

That  man  in  himself  is  wholly  unrighteous. 
That  he  cannot  be  justified  by  works — that  is,  pro- 
nounced righteous  before  the  judgment-seat  of  God. 
That  Jesus  Christ  has  brought  in  a  righteousness  in  our 

place.     His  obedience  in  our  righteousness. 
That  we  through  faith  receive  Him,  are  united  with 
Him,   and  then  are  pronounced    righteous  before 
God. 
That  we  through  faith  have  the  certitude  of  this,  and, 

as  justified,  draw  near  before  God. 
That  union  with  Jesus  is  a  life  by  which  we  are  not 
only  pronounced  righteous,  but  are  really  righteous 
and  act  righteously. 
3.  I^et  the  certitude  of  your  part  in  justification,  in  the  full 
forgiveness  of  your  sins,  and  in  full  restoration  to  the  love  of 
God,  be  every  day  your  confidence  in  drawing  near  to  God. 
63 


XIII. 
THE  CI.KANSING  OF  SIN. 

"  If  we  walk  in  the  light,  t-ae  blood  of  Jesus  His  Son  cleanseth 
us  from  all  sin.  If  we  confess  our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  right- 
eous to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unright- 
eousness."— I  John  i.  7,  9. 

THE  same  God  that  forgives  sin  also  cleanses  from 
it.  Not  less  than  forgiveness  is  cleansing  a 
promise  of  God,  and  therefore  a  matter  of  faith.  As 
it  is  indispensable,  as  it  is  impossible  for  man,  so  is 
cleansing  as  well  as  forgiveness  certain  to  be  obtained 
from  God. 

And  what  now  is  this  cleansing  ?  The  word  comes 
from  the  Old  Testament.  While  forgiveness  was  a 
sentence  of  acquittal  passed  on  the  sinner,  cleansing 
was  something  that  happened  to  him  and  in  him. 
Forgiveness  came  to  him  through  the  word  :  in  the 
case  of  cleansing,  something  was  done  to  him  that 
he  could  experience.^  Consequently  with  us  also 
cleansing  is  the  inner  revelation  of  the  power  of  God 
whereby  we  are  liberated  from  unrighteousness,  from 
the  pollution  and  the  working  of  sin.  Through 
cleansing  we  obtain  the  blessing  of  a  pure  heart ;  a 

1  lyCv.  xiii.  13,  xiv.  7,  8  ;  Num.  xix.  12,  xxxi.  23,  24  ;  2  Sam  xxii. 
21,  25  ;  2  Chron.  v.  10  ;  Neh.  xiii.  30,  xviii.  21,  25  ;  Ps.  xxL  4 ;  MaL 
iii.  3- 

64 


The  Cleansing  of  Sin. 

heart  in  -which  the  Spirit  can  complete  His  opera* 
tions  with  a  view  to  sanctifying  us,  and  revealing  God 
within  us.^ 

Cleansing  is  through  the  blood.  Forgiveness  and 
cleansing  are  both  through  the  blood.  The  blood 
breaks  the  power  that  sin  has  in  heaven  to  condemn 
ns.  The  blood  thereby  also  breaks  the  power  of  sin 
in  the  heart  to  hold  us  captive.  The  blood  has  a 
ceaseless  operation  in  heaven  from  moment  to  mo- 
ment. The  blood  has  likewise  a  ceaseless  operation 
in  our  heart,  to  purify,  to  keep  pure  the  heart  into 
which  sin  always  seeks  to  penetrate  from  the  flesh. 
The  blood  cleanses  the  conscience  from  dead  works, 
to  serve  the  living  God.  The  marvelous  power  that 
the  blood  has  in  heaven,  it  has  also  in  the  heart.' 

Cleansing  is  also  through  the  word,  for  the  word 
testifies  of  the  blood  and  of  the  power  of  God.' 
Hence  also  cleansing  is  through  faith.  It  is  a  divine 
and  effectual  cleansing,  but  it  must  also  be  received 
in  faith  ere  it  can  be  experienced  and  felt.  I  believe 
that  I  am  cleansed  with  a  divine  cleansing,  even 
while  I  still  perceive  sin  in  the  flesh  ;  through  faith 
in  this  blessing,  cleansing  itself  shall  be  my  daily 
experience. 

Cleansing  is  ascribed  sometimes  to  God  or  the 
I/ord  Jesus;   sometimes  to  man.*     That   is  because 

1  Ps.  li.  12,  Ixxiii.  1  ;  Matt.  v.  8  ;  i  Tim.  i.  5  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  22  ;  1  Pet. 
i.  22. 

3  John  xiii.  10,  11 ;  Heb.  ix.  14,  x.  22  ;  i  John  i.  7. 

8  John  xiv.  3. 

*  Ps.  li.  3  ;  Ezek.  xxx.  25  ;  John  xiii.  2  ;  2  Cor.  vii.  i ;  i  Tim.  v. 
•a  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  21  ;  Jas.  iv.  8 ;  i  John  iii.  3. 

5  65 


The  New  Life. 

God  cleanses  us  by  making  us  active  in  our  own 
cleansing.  Through  the  blood  the  lust  that  leads  to 
sin  is  mortified,  the  certitude  of  power  against  it  is 
awakened,  and  the  desire  and  the  will  are  thus  made 
alive.  Happy  is  he  that  understands  this.  He  is 
protected  against  useless  endeavors  after  self-purifi- 
cation in  his  own  strength,  for  he  knows  God  alone 
can  do  it.  He  is  protected  against  discouragement, 
for  he  knows  God  will  certainly  do  it. 

What  we  have  now  accordingly  to  lay  the  chief 
stress  upon  is  found  in  two  things,  the  desire  and  the 
reception  of  cleansing.  The  desire  must  be  strong 
for  a  real  purification.  Forgiveness  must  be  only 
the  gateway  or  beginning  of  a  holy  life.  I  have 
several  times  remarked  that  the  secret  of  progress  in 
the  service  of  God  is  a  strong  yearning  to  become 
free  from  every  sin,  a  hunger  and  thirst  after  right- 
eousness.^ Blessed  are  such  as  thus  yearn.  They 
shall  understand  and  receive  the  promise  of  a  cleans- 
ing through  God. 

They  learn  also  what  it  is  to  do  this  in  faith. 
Through  faith  they  know  that  an  unseen,  spiritual, 
heavenly,  but  very  real  cleansing  through  the  blood 
is  wrought  in  them  by  God  Himself. 

Beloved  child  of  God,  you  remember  how  we  have 
seen  that  it  was  to  cleanse  us  that  Jesus  gave  Him- 
self.* Let  Him,  let  God  the  Lord,  cleanse  you. 
Having  these  promises  of  a  divine  cleansing,  cleanse 
yourselves.     Believe  that  every  sin,  when  it  is  fo«:- 

1  Ps.  xix.  13  ;  Matt.  v.  6. 

2  Eph.  V.  26 ;  Tit.  ii.  14. 

66 


The  Cleansing  of  Sin. 

given  you,  is  also  cleansed  away.  It  sliall  be  to  you 
according  to  your  faith.  Let  your  faith  in  God,  in 
the  word,  in  the  blood,  in  your  Jesus  increase  con- 
tinually: "God  is  faithful  and  righteous  to  cleanse 
us  from  all  unrighteousness." 


Lord  God,  I  thank  Thee  for  these  promises.  Thou 
givest  not  only  forgiveness,  but  also  cleansing.  As 
surely  as  forgiveness  comes  first,  does  cleansing  fol- 
low for  every  one  that  desires  it  and  believes.  Lord, 
let  Thy  word  penetrate  my  heart,  and  let  a  divine 
cleansing  from  every  sin  that  is  forgiven  me  be  the 
stable  expectation  of  my  soul. 

Beloved  Saviour,  let  the  glorious,  ceaseless  cleans- 
ing of  Thy  blood  through  Thy  Spirit  in  me  be  made 
known  to  me  and  shared  by  me  every  moment. 
Amen. 

1.  What  is  the  connection  between  cleansing  by  God  and 
cleansing  by  man  himself? 

2.  What,  according  to  i  John  i.  9,  are  the  two  things  that 
must  precede  cleansing  ? 

3.  Is  cleansing,  as  well  as  forgiveness,  the  work  of  God  in  us? 
If  this  is  the  case,  of  what  inexpressible  importance  is  it  to  trust 
God  for  it.  To  believe  that  God  gives  me  a  divine  cleansing  iu 
the  blood  when  He  forgives  me,  is  the  way  to  become  partaker 
of  it. 

4.  What,  according  to  Scripture,  are  the  evidences  of  a  pure 
heart? 

5.  What  are  "clean  hands?"  (Ps.  xxiv.) 

67 


XIV. 
HOLINESS. 

**  I<ike  as  He  which  called  you  is  holy,  be  ye  yourselves  also 
holy  in  all  manner  of  living :  because  it  is  written,  Ye  shall  be 
holy ;  for  I  am.  holy." — i  Pet.  i.  15,  16. 

"  But  of  Him  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  was  made  unto  us 
from  God,  sanctification." — i  Cor.  i.  30. 

"  God  chose  you  from  the  beginning  unto  salvation  in  sancti- 
fication of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth." — 2  Thess.  ii.  13. 

NOT  only  salvation,  but  holiness — salvation  in 
holiness :  for  this  end  has  God  chosen  and 
called  us.  Not  only  safe  in  Christ,  but  holy  in  Christ, 
must  the  goal  of  the  young  Christian  be.  Safety  and 
salvation  are  in  the  long  run  found  only  in  holiness. 
The  Christian  who  thinks  that  his  salvation  consists 
merely  in  safety  and  not  in  holiness,  will  find  him- 
self deceived.  Young  Christian,  listen  to  the  word 
of  God :  Be  holy. 

And  wherefore  must  I  be  holy?  Because  He  who 
called  you  is  holy,  and  summons  you  to  fellowship 
and  conformity  with  Himself  How  should  any  one 
be  saved  in  God,  when  he  has  not  the  same  disposi- 
tion as  God  ?  1 

God's  holiness  is  His  highest  glory.  In  His  holi- 
ness His  righteousness  and  love  are  united.  His  holi- 
ness is  the  flaming  fire  of  His  zeal  against  all  that  is 
1  Ex.  xix.  6  ;  Lev.  xi.  44,  xix.  a,  xx.  6,  7. 

68 


Holiness. 

sin,  -whereby  He  keeps  Himself  free  from  sin,  and 
in  love  makes  others  also  free  from  it.  It  is  as 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel  that  He  is  the  Redeemer,  and 
that  He  dwells  in  the  midst  of  His  people.^  Redemp- 
tion is  given  to  bring  us  to  Himself  and  to  the  fel- 
lowship of  His  holiness.  We  cannot  possibly  have 
part  in  the  love  and  salvation  of  God  if  we  are  not 
holy  as  He  is  holy.'^    Young  Christians,  be  holy. 

And  what  is  this  holiness  that  I  must  have  ?  An- 
swer :  Of  God  are  ye  in  Christ  who  of  God  is  made 
unto  you  sanctification.  Christ  is  your  sanctification ; 
the  life  of  Christ  in  you  is  your  holiness.*  In  Christ 
you  are  sanctified ;  you  are  holy.  In  Christ  you  must 
still  be  sanctified;  the  glory  of  Christ  must  pene- 
trate your  whole  life. 

Holiness  is  more  than  purity.  In  Scripture  we  see 
that  cleansing  precedes  holiness.*  Cleansing  is  the 
taking  away  of  that  which  is  wrong ;  liberation  from 
sin.  Holiness  is  the  filling  with  that  which  is  good, 
divine,  with  the  disposition  of  Jesus.  Conformity  to 
Him — this  is  holiness :  separation  from  the  spirit  of 
the  world;  the  being  filled  with  the  presence  of  the 
Holy  God — this  is  holiness.  The  tabernacle  was 
holy  because  God  dwelt  there ;  we  are  holy,  as  God's 
temple,  after  we  have  the  indwelling  of  God.  Christ's 
life  in  us  is  our  holiness.* 

And  how  do  we  become  holy  ?  By  the  sanctification 

1  Ex.  XV.  II ;  Isa.  xii.  6,  xli.  14,  xliii,  15,  xlix.  7,  IviL  15.  Hos. 
xi.9. 

2  Isa.  X.  17 ;  Heb.  xiii.  14.  '  i  Cor.  i.  2  ;    Eph.  v.  sf. 
<2  Cor.  vii.  I ;  Eph.  v.  26,  27;  2  Tim.  ii.  21. 

6  Ex.  xxiz.  43,  45 ;    I  Cor.  i.  2,  iii.  16,  17,  vi.  19. 
69 


The  New  Life. 

of  the  Spirit.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  named  the  Holy 
Spirit,  because  He  makes  us  holy.  He  reveals  and 
glorifies  Christ  in  us.  Through  Him  Christ  dwells 
in  us,  and  His  holy  power  works  in  us.  Through 
this  Holy  Spirit  the  workings  of  the  flesh  are  morti- 
fied, and  God  works  in  us  both  the  will  and  the  ac- 
complishment.^ 

And  what  is  now  the  work  that  we  have  to  do  to 
receive  this  holiness  of  Christ  through  the  Holy 
Spirit?  *'  God  chose  you  to  salvation,  in  sanctifica- 
tion  of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth.' ^^  The 
holiness  of  Christ  becomes  ours  through  faith.  There 
must  naturally  first  be  the  desire  to  become  holy. 
We  must  cleanse  ourselves  from  all  pollutions  of 
flesh  and  spirit  by  confessing  them,  giving  them  up 
to  God,  and  having  them  cleansed  away  in  the  blood. 
Then,  first,  can  we  perfect  holiness.'  Then,  in  belief 
of  the  truth  that  Christ  Himself  is  our  sanctification, 
we  have  to  take  and  receive  from  Him  what  is  pre- 
pared in  His  fulness  for  us*  We  must  be  deeply  con- 
vinced that  Christ  is  wholly  and  alone  our  sanctifica- 
tion as  He  is  our  justification,  and  that  He  will  actu- 
ally and  powerfully  work  in  us  that  which  is  well- 
pleasing  to  God.  In  this  faith  we  must  know  that 
we  have  suflBicient  power  for  holiness,  and  that  our 
work  is  to  receive  this  power  from  Him  by  faith 
every  day.^  He  gives  His  Spirit,  the  Holy  Spirit  ia 
us ;  the  Spirit  communicates  the  holy  life  of  Jesus  to  ue. 

iRom.  i.  4,  viii.  2,  13 ;  i  Pet.  i.  2. 

Sa  Thess.  ii.  13.  ^2  Cor.  vii.  i. 

♦John  i.  14,  16 ,  1  Cor.  ii.  9,  10. 

5  Gal.  ii,  21 ;  Eph.  ii.  10 ;  Phil.  ii.  13,  iv.  ij. 

70 


Holiness. 

Young  Christian,  the  Three-One  God  is  the  Thrice- 
Holy.^  And  this  Three-One  God  is  the  God  that 
sanctifies  you :  the  Father,  by  giving  Jesus  to  you, 
and  confirming  you  in  Jesus;  the  Son,  by  Himself 
becoming  your  sanctification  and  giving  you  the 
Spirit ;  the  Spirit,  by  revealing  the  Son  in  you,  pre- 
paring you  as  a  temple  for  the  indwelling  of  God, 
and  making  the  Son  dwell  in  you.  O,  be  holy,  for 
God  is  holy. 

Lord  God,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  what  thanks 
shall  I  render  to  Thee  for  the  gift  of  Thy  Son  as  my 
sanctification,  and  that  I  am  sanctified  in  Him  ?  And 
what  thanks  for  the  Spirit  of  sanctification  to  dwell 
in  me,  and  transplant  the  holiness  of  Jesus  into  me  ? 
Lord,  give  me  to  understand  this  aright,  and  to  long 
for  the  experience  of  it.    Amen. 

1.  What  is  the  distinction  betwixt  forgiveness  and  cleansing, 
and  betwixt  cleansing  and  holiness  ? 

2.  What  made  the  temple  a  sanctuary?  The  indwelling  of 
God.  What  makes  us  holy  ?  Nothing  less  than  this :  the  in 
dwelling  of  God  in  Christ  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Obedience  and 
purity  are  the  way  to  holiness ;  holiness  itself  is  something 
higher. 

3.  In  Isa.  Ivii.  17,  there  is  a  description  of  the  man  who  will 
become  holy.  It  is  he  who,  in  poverty  of  spirit,  acknowledges 
that,  even  when  he  is  living  as  a  righteous  man,  he  has  nothing, 
and  looks  to  God  to  come  and  dwell  in  him. 

4.  No  one  is  holy  but  the  Lord.  You  have  as  much  of  holi- 
ness as  you  have  of  God  in  you. 

5.  The  word  "  holy  "  is  one  of  the  deepest  words  in  the  Bible, 
the  deepest  mystery  of  the  Godhead.    Do  you  desire  to  under^ 

^  Isa.  vi.  3  ;  Rev.  iv.  8,  xv.  3,  4. 

71 


The  New  Ivife. 


stand  something-  of  it,  and  to  obtain  part  in  it?  Then  take  these 
two  thoughts,  "I  am  holy,"  "Be  ye  holy,"  and  carry  them  in 
your  heart  as  a  seed  of  God  that  has  life. 

6.  What  is  the  connection  betwixt  the  perseverance  of  the 
saints  and  perseverance  in  holiness? 

72 


•  XV. 

RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

"  He  hath  showed  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good  ;  and  what  doth 
the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and 
to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God? " — Micah  vi.  8. 

"  Present  yourselves  unto  God,  as  alive  from  the  dead,  and 
your  members  as  instruments  of  righteousness  unto  God.  Being 
made  free  from  sin,  ye  became  servants  of  righteousness.  Even 
so  now  present  your  members  as  servants  to  righteousness  unto 
sanctification." — Rom.  vi.  13,  18,  19. 

THE  word  of  Micah  teaches  us  that  the  fruit  of  the 
salvation  of  God  is  seen  chiefly  in  three  things. 
The  new  life  must  be  characterized,  in  my  relation  to 
God  and  His  will,  by  righteousnesss  and  doing  right ; 
in  my  relation  to  my  neighbor,  by  love  and  benefi- 
cence ;  in  relation  to  myself,  by  humility  and  lowli- 
ness. For  the  present  we  meditate  on  righteousness. 
Scripture  teaches  us  that  no  man  is  righteous  be- 
fore God,  or  has  any  righteousness  that  can  stand 
before  God ;  ^  that  man  receives  the  rightness  or 
righteousness  of  Christ  for  nothing ;  and  that  by  this 
righteousness,  which  is  received  in  fa'  .h,  he  is  then 
justified  before  God,^  he  is  right  wit  1  God,  This 
righteous  sentence  of  God  is  something  eflfectual, 

1  Ps.  xiv.  3,  cxliii.  2  ;    Rom.  iii.  10,  20. 

*Rom.  iii.  2j,  24,  X.  3,  10  ;  i  Cor.  i.  30;  2  Cor.  ▼.  2X  ;  Gal.  iL  i6,* 
Phil,  iii  9. 

73 


The  New  Life. 

•whereby  the  life  of  righteousness  is  implanted  in 
man,  and  he  learns  to  live  as  a  righteous  man,  and  to 
do  righteousness.'  Being  right  with  God  is  followed 
by  doing  right.  "The  righteous  shall  live  by  faith  " 
a  righteous  life. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  this  is  not  always  understood. 
One  thinks  sometimes  more  of  justification  than  of 
righteousness  in  life  and  walk.  To  understand  the 
will  and  the  thoughts  of  God  here,  let  us  trace  what 
Scripture  teaches  us  on  this  point.  "We  shall  be  per- 
suaded that  the  man  who  is  clothed  with  a  divine 
righteousness  before  God  must  also  walk  before  God 
and  man  in  a  divine  righteousness. 

Consider  how,  in  the  word,  the  servants  of  God  are 
praised  as  righteous  ;  ^  how  the  favor  and  blessing  of 
God  are  pronounced  upon  the  righteous ; '  how  the 
righteous  are  called  to  confidence,  to  joy.*  See  this 
especially  in  the  Book  of  Psalms.  See  how  in  Pro- 
verbs, although  you  should  take  but  one  chapter  only, 
all  blessing  is  pronounced  upon  the  righteous.*  See 
how  everywhere  men  are  divided  into  two  classes,  the 
righteous  and  the  godless.®  See  how,  in  the  New 
Testament,  the  Lord  Jesus  demands  this  righteous- 

iRom.  V.  17,  18,  vi.  13,  18,  19,  viii.  3  ;  Tit.  i.  8,  ii,  12  ;  i  John  ii. 
89,  iii.  9,  10. 

2  Gen.  vi.  9,  vii.  i  ;  Matt.  i.  19 ;  lyUke  i.  6,  ii.  25  ;  2  Pet.  ii.  7. 

3Ps.  i.  6,  V.  13,  xiv  5,  xxxiv.  16,  20,  xxxvii.  17,  39,  xcii.  13,  xcvii. 
II,  cxlvi.  8. 

*Ps.  xxxii.  II,  xxxiii.  1,  Iviii.  11,  Ixiv.  11,  Ixviii.  4,  xcvii.  12. 

sprov.  X.  3,  6,  7,  II,  16,  20,  21,  24,  25,  28,  30,  31,  32. 

*Eccles,  iii.  17  ;  Isa.  iii.  10  ;  Ezek.  iii.  18,  20,  xviii.  21, 23,  xxxiii 
» ;  Mai.  iii.  18  ;  Matt.  v.  45,  xii.  49,  xxv.  46. 

74 


Righteousness. 


ness ;  ^  how  Paul,  who  announces  most  the  doctrine 
of  justification  by  faith  alone,  insists  that  this  is  the 
aim  of  justification,  to  form  righteous  men,  who  do 
right.  2  See  how  John  names  righteousness  along 
with  love  as  the  two  indispensable  marks  of  the  child- 
ren of  God.  ^  When  you  put  all  these  facts  together, 
it  must  be  very  evident  to  you  that  a  true  Christian 
is  a  man  who  does  righteousness  in  all  things,  even 
as  God  is  righteous. 

And  what  this  righteousness  is,  Scripture  will  also 
teach  you.  It  is  a  life  in  accordance  with  the  com- 
mands of  God,  in  all  their  breadth  and  height.  The 
righteous  man  does  what  is  right  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Ivord.*  He  takes  not  the  rules  of  human  action ;  he 
asks  not  what  man  considers  lawful.  As  a  man  who 
stands  right  with  God,  who  walks  uprightly  with 
God,  he  dreads  above  all  things  even  the  least  un- 
righteousness. He  is  afraid,  above  all,  of  being  par- 
tial to  himself,  of  doing  any  wrong  to  his  neighbor 
for  the  sake  of  his  own  advantage.  In  g^eat  and 
little  things  alike,  he  takes  the  Scriptures  as  his 
measure  and  line.  As  the  ally  of  God,  he  knows  that 
the  way  of  righteousness  is  the  way  of  blessing,  and 
life,  and  joy. 

Consider,  further,  the  promises  of  blessing  and  joy 
which  God  has  for  the  righteous,  and  then  live  as  one 
who,  in  friendship  with  God,  and  clothed  with  the 

^  Matt.  V.  6,  20,  vi.  33. 

2  Rom.  iii.  31,  vi.  13,  22,  vii.  4,  6,  viiL  4 ;  a  Cor.  ix.  9,  10 ;  Phil.  L 
n  ;  I  Tim.  vi.  11. 

3  I  John  ii.  4,  II,  ag,  iii.  10,  v.  2. 

•  Ps.  cxix.  166,  168 ;  Luke  i.  6,  75 ;  i  Thess.  ii.  10. 

75 


The  New  Ivife. 

righteousness  of  His  Son  through  faith,  has  no  alte]> 
native  but  to  do  righteousness. 


O  Lord,  who  hast  said,  ' '  There  is  no  God  else  be- 
side Me  :  a  just  God  and  a  Saviour,"  Thou  art  my  God. 
It  is  as  a  righteous  God  that  Thou  art  my  Saviour, 
and  hast  redeemed  me  in  Thy  Son.  As  a  righteous 
God  Thou  makest  me  also  righteous,  and  sayest  to 
me  that  the  righteous  shall  live  by  faith.  O  Lord, 
let  the  new  life  in  me  be  the  life  of  faith,  the  life  of  a 
righteous  man.     Amen. 

1.  Observe  the  connection  between  the  doing  of  righteousness 
and sanctification  in  Rom.  vi.  19,  22  :  "  Present yourmembers as 
servants  to  righteousness  unto  sanctification."  "Having  be- 
come servants  to  God,  ye  have  your  fruit  unto  sanctification." 
The  doing  of  righteousness — righteousness  in  conduct  and  ac- 
tion— is  the  way  to  holiness.  Obedience  is  the  way  to  become 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  the  indwelling  of  God  through 
the  Spirit — this  is  holiness. 

2.  "  Suffer  it  now  :  for  thus  it  becometh  us  to  fulfill  all  right- 
eousness." It  was  when  the  I^ord  Jesus  had  spoken  that  word 
that  He  was  baptized  with  the  Spirit.  Let  us  set  aside  every 
temptation  not  to  walk  in  full  obedience  towards  God,  even  as 
He  did,  and  we  too  shall  be  filled  with  the  Spirit.  "  Blessed  are 
they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness." 

3.  Take  pains  to  set  before  yourselves  the  image  of  a  man 
whoso  walks  that  the  name  of  "righteous"  is  involuntarily 
given  to  him.  Think  of  his  uprightness,  his  conscientious  care 
to  cause  no  one  to  suffer  the  least  injury,  his  holy  fear  and  care- 
fulness to  transgress  none  of  the  commands  of  the  I,ord— right- 
eous, and  walking  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of 
the  I^ord  blameless  ;  and  then  say  to  the  Lord  that  you  should 
so  live. 

4-  You  understand  now  the  great  word,  "  The  righteous  shall 
live  by  faith.     By  faith  the  godless  is  justified,  and  becomes  a 
righteous  man  ;  by  faith  he  lives  as  a  righteous  man. 
76 


XVI. 

LOVE. 

**  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you.  That  ye  love  one 
another ;  even  as  I  have  loved  you,  that  ye  also  love  one  an- 
other. By  this  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  My  disciples,  if 
ye  have  love  one  to  another." — John  xiii.  34,  35. 

"Loveworketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbor:  love  therefore  is  the 
fulfillingof  the  law." — Rom.  xiii.  10. 

"  Beloved,  if  God  so  loved  us,  we  also  ought  to  love  one  an- 
other. If  we  love  one  another,  God  abideth  in  us,  and  His  love 
is  perfected  in  us." — i  John  iv.  11,  12. 

IN  the  word  of  Micah,  in  the  previous  section, 
righteousness  was  the  first  thing,  to  love  mercy 
the  second,  that  God  demands.  Righteousness  stood 
more  in  the  foreground  in  the  Old  Testament :  it  is 
in  the  New  Testament  that  it  is  first  seen  that  love  is 
supreme.  Utterances  to  this  effect  are  not  difficult 
to  find.  It  is  in  the  advent  of  Jesus  that  the  love  of 
God  is  first  revealed  ;  that  the  new,  the  eternal  life, 
is  first  given  ;  that  we  become  children  of  the  Father, 
and  brethren  of  one  another.  On  this  ground  the 
Lord  can  then,  for  the  first  time,  speak  of  the  New 
Commandment — the  commandment  of  brotherly  love. 
Righteousness  is  required  not  less  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment than  in  the  Old.^    Yet  the  burden  of  the  New 

1  Matt.  V.  6,  17,  20,  vi.  33. 
77 


The  New  Life. 

Testament  is,  that  power  has  been  given  us  for  a  love 
that  in  early  days  was  impossible."  ^ 

Let  every  Christian  take  it  deeply  to  heart,  that  in 
the  first  and  the  great  commandment,  the  new  com- 
mandment given  by  Jesus  at  His  departure,  the  pecu- 
liar characteristic  of  a  disciple  of  Jesus  is  brotherly 
(  iove.  And  let  him  with  his  whole  heart  yield  him- 
self to  Him,  to  obey  that  command.  For  the  right 
exercise  of  this  brotherly  love,  one  must  take  heed  to 
more  than  one  thing. 

/  Love  to  the  brethren  arises  from  the  love  of  the 
Father.  By  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  love  of  God  is  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts,  the  wonderful  love  of  the 
Father  is  unveiled  to  us,  so  that  His  love  becomes 
the  life  and  the  joy  of  our  soul.  Out  of  this  foun- 
tain of  the  love  of  God  to  us  springs  our  love  to  Him.' 
And  our  love  to  Him  works  naturally  love  to  the 
brethren.'  Do  not  attempt,  then,  to  fulfill  the  com- 
mandment of  brotherly  love  of  yourselves :  you  are 
not  in  a  position  to  do  this.  But  believe  that  the 
;  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  in  you  to  make  known  the  love 
of  God  to  you,  also  ceilainly  enables  you  to  yield 
this  love.  Never  say  :  I  feel  no  love ;  I  do  not  feel  as 
if  I  can  forgive  this  man.  Feeling  is  not  the  rule  of 
your  duty  but  the  command,  and  the  faith  that  God 
gives  power  to  obey  the  command.  In  obedience  to 
the  Father,  with  the  choice  of  your  will,  and  in  faith 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  gives  you  power,  begin  to  say  : 

1  Rom.  V  5  ;  Gal.  v.  22  ;  i  Thess.  iv.  9 ;  i  John  iv.  11,  xiii.  34. 

2  Rom.  V.  5  ;  I  John  iv.  19. 

3  Eph.  iv.  2,  6,  V.  I,  2 ;  i  John  iii.  i,  iv.  7,  20,  v.  x. 

78 


Love. 

I  will  love  him ;  I  do  love  him.  The  feeling  will 
follow  the  faith.  Grace  gives  power  for  all  that  the 
Father  asks  of  you.* 

Brotherly  love  has  its  measure  and  rule  in  the  love 
of  Jesus.  "  This  is  my  commandment,  that  ye  love 
one  another,  as  I  have  loved  you."  '  The  eternal  life 
that  works  in  us  is  the  life  of  Jesus ;  it  knows  no 
■other  law  than  what  we  see  in  Him  ;  it  works  with 
power  in  us  what  it  wrought  in  Him.  •  Jesus  Himself 
lives  in  us  and  loves  in  and  through  us :  we  must  be- 
lieve in  the  power  of  this  love  in  us,  and  in  that  faith 
love  as  He  loved.  O,  do  believe  that  this  is  true  sal- 
vation, to  love  even  as  Jesus  loves. 

Brotherly  love  must  be  in  deed  and  in  truth,'  It 
is  not  mere  feeling  :  faith  working  by  love  is  what 
has  power  in  Christ.  It  manifests  itself  in  all  the 
dispositions  that  are  enumerated  in  the  word  of  God. 
Contemplate  its  glorious  image  in  i  Cor.  xiii.  4-7. 
Mark  all  the  glorious  encouragements  to  gentleness, 
to  long-suffering,  to  mercy.*  In  all  your  conduct,  let 
it  be  seen  that  the  love  of  Christ  dwells  in  you.  Let 
your  love  be  a  helpful,  self-sacrificing  love,  like  that 
of  Jesus.  Hold  all  children  of  God,  however  sinful 
or  perverse  they  may  be,  fervently  dear.  Let  love  to 
them  teach  you  to  love  all  men.^  Let  your  household 

*  Matt.  V.  44,  45 ;  Gal.  ii.  20;  i  Thess,  iii.  12,  13,  v.  24  ;  Phil,  iv. 
13;  I  Pet  i.  22. 

^Luke  xxii.  26,  27  ;  John  xiii.  14,  15,  34;  Col.  ii.  13. 

3  Matt,  xii,  50,  XXV.  40  ;  Rom.  xiii.  10;  1  Cor.  vii.  19  ;  Gal.  v.  6; 
Jas.  ii.  15,  16 ;  i  John  iii.  16,  17,  18. 

*Gal.  V,  22  ;  Eph,  iv.  2,  32  ;  Phil,  ii.  *,  3 ;  Col.  iii.  12 ;  2  Thess.  i.  3. 

^I^uke  vi.  32,  35 ;    I  Pet.  i.  23;  2  Pet.  i.  7. 

79 


The  New  Life. 

and  the  Church,  and  the  world,  see  in  you  one  with 
whom  * '  love  is  greatest ; ' '  one  in  whom  the  love  of  God 
has  a  full  dwelling,  a  free  working. 
/  Christian,  God  is  love.  Jesus  is  the  gift  of  this 
love,  to  bring  love  to  you,  to  transplant  you  into  that 
life  of  God-like  love.  (  Live  in  that  faith,  and  you 
shall  not  complain  that  you  have  no  power  to  love  : 
the  love  of  the  Spirit  shall  be  your  power  and  your 
life. 

Beloved  Saviour,  I  discern  more  clearly  that  the 
whole  of  the  new  life  is  a  life  in  love.  Thou  Thyself 
art  the  Son  of  God's  love,  the  gift  of  His  love,  come 
to  introduce  us  into  His  love,  and  give  us  a  dwelling 
there.  And  the  Holy  Spirit  is  given  to  shed  abroad 
the  love  of  God  in  our  hearts,  to  open  a  spring  out  of 
which  shall  stream  love  to  Thee,  and  to  the  brethren, 
and  to  all  mankind.  Lord,  here  am  I,  one  redeemed 
by  love,  to  live  for  it,  and  in  its  might  to  love  all. 
Amen. 


1.  Those  who  reject  the  word  of  God  sometimes  say  that  it  is  of 
no  moment  what  we  believe,  if  we  but  have  love,  and  so  they  are 
lor  making  love  the  one  condition  of  salvation.  In  their  zeal 
against  this  view,  the  orthodox  party  have  sometimes  presented 
faith  in  justification,  as  if  love  were  not  of  so  much  importance. 
This  is  likely  to  be  very  dangerous.  God  is  love.  His  Son  is 
the  gift,  the  bringer,  of  His  love  to  us.  The  Spirit  sheds  abroad 
the  love  of  God  in  the  heart.  The  New  I,ife  is  a  life  in  love. 
Love  is  the  greatest  thing.  I^et  it  be  the  chief  element  in  our 
life  :  true  love,  that,  namely,  which  is  known  in  the  keeping  of 
God's  commandments.     (See  i  John  iii.  lo,  23,  24,  v.  2) 

2.  Do  not  wonder  that  I  have  said  to  you  that  you  must  love, 
although  you  do  not  feel  the  least  love.     Not  the  feeling,  but  the 

twill  is  your  jMiwer  :  it  is  not  in  your  feeling,  but  in  faith,  that 
80 


Love. 


the  Spirit  in  you  is  the  power  of  your  will  to  work  in  you  all 
that  the  Father  bids  you,  Therefore,  although  you  feel  abso- 
lutely no  love  to  your  enemy,  say  in  the  obedience  of  faith : 
Father,  I  love  him  ;  in  faith  in  the  hidden  working  of  the  Spirit 
in  my  heart,  I  do  love  him. 

3.  Pray,  think  not  that  this  is  love,  if  you  wish  no  evil  to  any 
one,  or  if  you  should  be  willing  to  help,  if  he  were  in  need.  No: 
love  is  much  more  :  love  is  love.  Love  is  the  disposition  with 
which  God  addressed  you  when  you  were  His  enemy,  and  after- 
wards ran  to  you  with  tender  longing  to  bless  you. 

6  Si 


XVII. 
HUMIUTY. 

••  And  what  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly, 
and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God?"— 
MiCAH  vi.  8. 

"  Learn  of  me  that  *  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart :  and  ye 
shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls." — Matt.  xi.  29. 

ONE  of  the  most  dangerous  enemies  against 
which  the  young  Christian  must  watch,  is 
pride  or  self-exaltation.  There  is  no  sin  that  works 
more  cunningly  and  more  hiddenly.  It  knows  how 
to  penetrate  into  everything,  even  into  our  service  for 
God,  our  prayers — yea,  even  into  our  humility : 
there  is  nothing  so  small  in  the  earthly  life,  nothing 
so  holy  in  the  spiritual  life,  that  self-exaltation  does 
not  know  to  extract  its  nutriment  out  of.^  The 
Christian  must  therefore  be  on  his  guard  against  it, 
must  listen  to  what  Scripture  teaches  about  it,  and 
about  the  lowliness  whereby  it  is  driven  out. 

Man  was  created  to  have  part  in  the  glory  of  God. 
He  obtains  this  by  surrendering  himself  to  the  glori- 
fication of  God.  The  more  he  seeks  that  the  glory 
of  God  only  shall  be  seen  in  him,  the  more  does  this 

1  2  Chron.  xxvi.  5,  16,  xxxii.  26,  31  ;  Isa.  Ixv.  5  ;  Jer.  vii.  4  ;  2 
Cor.  xii.  7. 

*  So  the  Dutch  version  here  renders  the  particle  (otc),  which 
with  us  is  translated  "  because  "  or  "  for." — Tr. 
82 


Humility. 

glory  rest  upon  himself.*  The  more  he  forgets  and 
loses  himself,  desiring  to  be  nothing,  that  God  may  be 
all  and  be  alone  glorified,  the  more  happy  shall  he  be. 

By  sin  this  design  has  been  thwarted ;  man  seeks 
himself  and  his  own  will.^  Grace  has  come  to  restore 
what  sin  has  corrupted,  and  to  bring  man  to  glory  by 
the  pathway  of  dying  unto  himself  and  living  solely 
for  the  glory  of  God.  This  is  the  humility  or  lowli- 
ness of  which  Jesus  is  the  exemplar :  He  took  no 
thought  for  Himself,  He  gave  Himself  over  wholly  to 
glorify  the  Father.^ 

He  who  would  be  freed  from  self-exaltation  must 
not  think  to  obtain  this  by  striving  against  its  mere 
workings.  No  :  pride  must  be  driven  out  and  kept 
out  by  humility.  The  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ,  the 
Spirit  of  His  lowliness,  will  work  in  us  true  lowliness.* 

The  means  that  He  will  chiefly  use  for  this  end  is 
the  word.  It  is  by  the  word  that  we  are  cleansed 
from  sin ;  it  is  by  the  word  that  we  are  sanctified  and 
filled  with  the  love  of  God. 

Observe  what  the  word  says  about  this  point.  It 
speaks  of  God's  aversion  to  pride,  and  the  punish- 
ment that  comes  upon  it.^  It  gives  the  most  glorious 
promises  to  the  lowly.*    In  well-nigh  every  Epistle, 

1  Isa.  xliii.  7,  21 ;  John  xii.  28,  xiii.  31,  32,  xvii.  i,  4>  5  5  1  Cor.  x. 
31 ;  2  Thess.  i.  11,  12. 

2  Rora.  i.  21,  23.  3  John  viii.  50  ;  Phil.  ii.  7. 
*  Rom.  viii.  2  ;  Phil.  ii.  5. 

5  Ps.  xxxi.  24  ;  Prov.  xvi.  5  ;  Matt,  xxiii.  12  ;  I^uke  i.  51  ;  Jas. 
iv.  6  ;  I  Pet.  v.  5. 

6  Ps.  xxxiv.  19 ;  Prov.  xi.  2.;  Isa.  Ivii.  15  ;  I^uke  ix.  48,  xiv.  11, 
xviiL  14, 

83 


The  New  lyife. 

tumility  is  commended  to  Christians  as  one  of  the 
first  virtues.  1  It  is  the  feature  in  the  image  of  Jesus 
which  He  seeks  chiefly  to  impress  on  His  disciples. 
His  whole  incarnation  and  redemption  has  its  roots 
in  His  humiliation.^ 

Take  singly  some  of  these  words  of  God  from  time 
to  time  and  lay  them  up  in  your  heart.  The  tree  of 
life  yields  many  different  kinds  of  seed — the  seed  also 
of  the  heavenly  plant,  lowliness.  The  seeds  are  the 
words  of  God.  Carry  them  in  your  heart :  they  shall 
shoot  up  and  yield  fruit. ^ 

Consider,  moreover,  how  lovely,  how  becoming, 
how  well-pleasing  to  God,  lowliness  is.  As  man, 
created  for  the  honor  of  God,  you  find  it  befitting 
you.*  As  a  sinner,  deeply  unworthy,  you  have  noth- 
ing more  to  urge  against  it.^  As  a  redeemed  soul, 
who  knows  that  only  through  the  death  of  the  natural 
/  does  the  way  to  the  new  life  lie,  you  find  it  indis- 
pensable."' As  a  child  of  the  Father,  overwhelmed 
with  His  love,  you  must  consider  it  above  all  else.'^ 

But  here,  as  everywhere  in  the  life  of  grace,  let 
faith  be  the  chief  thing.  Believe  in  the  power  of  the 
eternal  life  that  works  in  you.  Believe  in  the  power 
of  Jesus,  who  is  your  life.     Believe  in  the  power  of 

1  Rom.  xii.  3,  i6  ;  i  Cor.  xiii.  4 ;  Gal.  v.  22,  26 ;  Kph.  iv.  2  ;  Phil, 
ii.  3  ;  Col.  ii.  13. 

2  Matt.  XX.  26,  28  ;  I,uke  xxii.  27  ;  John  xiii.  14,  15  ;  Phil.  ii.  7,  8. 

3  I  Thess.  ii.  13  ;  Heb.  iv.  12  ;  Jas.  i.  21. 
*  Gen.  i.  27 ;  1  Cor.  xi.  7. 

5  Job.  xi.  6  ;  Isa.  vi.  5  ;  Luke  v.  8. 

«  Rom.  vii.  18  ;  i  Cor.  xv.  9,  10 ;  Gal.  II.  20. 

7  Gen.  xxxii.  10  ;  2  Sam.  vii.  18 ;  i  Pet  v.  11. 

84 


Humility. 

the  Holy  Spirit  who  dwells  in  you.  Attempt  not  to 
hide  your  pride,  or  to  forget  it,  or  to  root  it  out  your 
self.  Confess  this  sin,  with  every  working  of  it  that 
you  trace,  in  the  sure  confidence  that  the  blood 
cleanses,  that  the  Spirit  sanctifies.  Learn  of  Jesus 
that  He  is  meek  and  lowly  in  heart.  Consider  that 
He  is  your  life,  with  all  that  He  has.  Believe  that 
He  gives  His  humility  to  you.  The  word  :  "  Do  it  to 
the  Ivord  Jesus, ' '  means,  ' '  Be  clothed  with  the  Lord 
Jesus."  Be  clothed  with  humility,  in  order  that  you 
may  be  clothed  with  Jesus.  It  is  Christ  in  you  that 
shall  fill  you  with  humility. 


Blessed  Lord  Jesus,  there  never  was  any  one  amongst 
the  children  of  men  so  high,  so  holy,  so  glorious  as 
Thou.  And  never  was  there  any  one  who  was  so 
lowly  and  ready  to  deny  himself  as  the  servant  of  all. 
O  Lord,  when  shall  we  learn  that  lowliness  is  the 
grace  by  which  man  can  be  most  closely  confirmed  to 
the  divine  glory  ?     O  teach  me  this.     Amen. 

I.  Take  heed  that  you  do  nothing  to  feed  pride  on  the  part  of 
others.  Take  heed  that  you  do  not  sufifer  others  to  feed  your 
pride.  Take  heed,  above  all,  that  you  do  nothing  yourself  to 
feed  your  pride.  Let  God  alone  always  and  in  all  things  obtain 
the  honor.  Endeavor  to  observe  all  that  is  good  in  His  chil- 
dren, and  to  thank  Him  heartily  for  it.  Thank  Him  for  all  that 
helps  you  to  hold  yourself  in  small  esteem,  whether  it  be  sent 
through  friend  or  foe.  Resolve,  especially,  never  on  any  account 
to  be  eagerly  bent  on  your  own  honor,  when  this  is  not  accorded 
to  you  as  it  ought  to  be.  Commit  this  to  the  Father  :  take  heed 
only  to  His  honor. 

3.  By  no  means  suppose  that  faint-heartedness  or  doubting  is 

8S 


The  New  Ufe. 


lowliness.  Deep  humility  and  strong  faith  go  together.  The 
centurion  who  said  :  "  I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou  shouldst  come 
under  my  roof,"  and  the  woman  who  said:  "Yea,  Lord,  yet 
even  the  dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs  "—these  two  were  the  most 
humble  and  the  most  trustful  that  the  Lord  found  (see  Matt, 
viii.  lo,  XV.  28).  The  reason  is  this  :  the  nearer  we  are  to  God, 
the  less  we  are  in  ourselves,  but  the  stronger  we  are  in  Him. 
The  more  I  see  of  God,  the  less  I  become,  the  deeper  is  my  con* 
fidence  in  Him.  To  become  lowly,  let  God  fill  eye  and  heart. 
Where  God  is  all,  there  is  no  time  or  place  for  man. 
86 


XVIII. 
STUMBI^INGS. 

••  In  many  things  we  all  stumble."— J  as.  iiL  a. 

THIS  word  of  God  by  James  is  the  description  of 
what  man  is,  even  the  Christian,  when  he  is  not 
kept  by  grace.  It  serves  to  take  away  from  us  all 
hope  in  ourselves.*  "  Now  unto  Him  that  is  able  to 
guard  you  from  stumbling  ...  be  glory,  maj- 
esty, dominion  and  power  .  .  .  for  evermore" 
(Jude  24,  25).  This  word  of  God  by  Jude  points  to 
Him  who  can  keep  from  falling,  and  stirs  up  the  soul 
to  ascribe  to  Him  the  honor  and  the  power.  It 
serves  to  confirm  our  hope  in  God.^  "  Brethren,  give 
the  more  diligence  to  make  your  calling  and  election 
sure  :  for  if  ye  do  these  things,  ye  shall  never  stum- 
ble" (2  Pet.  i.  10),  This  word  of  God  by  Peter 
teaches  us  the  way  in  which  we  can  become  partakers 
of  the  keeping  of  the  Almighty  :  the  confirmation  of 
our  election  by  God  in  a  godlike  walk  (see  vers.  4,  8, 
II ).  It  serves  to  lead  us  into  diligence  and  conscien- 
tious watchfulness.' 

For  the  young  Christian,  it  is  often  a  diflScult  ques- 
tion what  he  ought  to  think  of  his  stumblings.     On 

1  Rom.  vii.  14,  23;  GaL  vi  x. 

3  3  Cor.  i.  9  ;  X  Thess.  v.  24 ;  a  Thess.  ii.  x6,  17,  iii  3. 

'  Matt  xzvi  41 ;  I«uke  xiL  35 ;  x  Pet.  L  X3,  v.  &-10. 

87 


The  New  Life. 

this  point,  he  ought  especially  to  be  on  his  guard 
against  two  errors.  Some  become  dispirited  when 
they  stumble:  they  think  that  their  surrender  was 
not  sincere,  and  lose  their  confidence  towards  God.i 
Others  again  take  it  too  lightly.  They  think  that  it 
cannot  be  otherwise  :  they  concern  themselves  little 
with  stumblings,  and  continue  to  live  in  them.^  Let 
us  take  these  words  of  God  to  teach  us  what  we  ought 
to  think  of  our  stumblings.     There  are  three  lessons. 

Let  not  stumblings  discourage  you.  You  are  called 
to  perfectness  :  yet  this  comes  not  at  once  :  time  and 
patience  are  needful  for  it.  Therefore  James  says : 
* '  Let  patience  have  its  perfect  work  that  ye  may  be 
perfect  and  entire."^*  Think  not  that  your  sur- 
render was  not  sincere ;  acknowledge  only  how  weak 
you  still  are.  Think  not  also  that  you  must  only  con- 
tinue stumbling  :  acknowledge  only  how  strong  your 
Saviour  is. 

Let  stumbling  rouse  you  to  faith  in  the  tnighty 
keeper.  It  is  because  you  have  not  relied  on  Him 
^ith  a  sufficient  faith  that  you  have  stumbled.*  Let 
stumbling  drive  you  to  Him.  The  first  thing  that 
you  must  do  with  a  stumbling  is :  go  with  it  to  your 
Jesus.  Tell  it  out  to  Him.^  Confess  it,  and  receive 
forgiveness.     Confess  it,  and  commit  yourself  with 

*  Heb.  iii.  6,  14,  x.  35. 

2  Rom.  vi.  I  ;  Gal    ii.  18,  iii.  3. 

^  Matt.  V.  48  ;  2  Tim.  iii.  17  ;  Heb.  xiii.  20, 21 ;  Jas.  i.  4  ;  i  Pet.  v.  10. 

<  Matt.  xiv.  31,  xvii.  20. 

*  Ps.  xxxviii.  18,  Ixix.  6 ;  i  John  i.  9,  ii.  1. 

*  The  Dutch  version  has  it :  "  Let  endurance  have  a  perfect 
work,  that  ye  may  be  perfect  and  wholly  sincere."— Tr. 

88 


Stumblings. 

your  weakness  to  Him,  and  reckon  on  Him  to  keep 
you.  Sing  continually  the  song  :  "To  Him  that  is 
mighty  to  keep  you,  be  the  glory." 

And  then,  let  stumbling  make  you  very  prudent?- 
By  faith  you  shall  strive  and  overcome.  In  the  power 
of  your  keeper  and  the  joy  and  security  of  His  help, 
you  shall  have  courage  to  watch.  The  firmer  you 
make  your  election,  the  stronger  the  certitude  that 
He  has  chosen  you,  and  will  not  let  you  go,  the  more 
conscientious  shall  you  become,  to  live  in  all  things 
only  for  Him,  in  Him,  through  Him.^  Doing  this, 
the  word  of  God  says,  you  shall  never  stumble. 


I/ord  Jesus,  a  sinner  who  is  ready  to  stumble  every 
moment  would  give  honor  to  Thee,  who  art  mighty 
to  keep  from  stumbling  :  Thine  is  the  might  and  the 
power :  I  take  Thee  as  my  keeper.  I  look  to  Thy 
love  which  has  chosen  me,  and  wait  for  the  fulfilment 
of  Thy  word  :  *'  Ye  shall  never  stumble."     Amen. 

1.  Let  your  thoughts  about  what  the  grace  of  God  can  do  for 
you,  be  taken  only  from  the  word  of  God.  Our  natural  expec- 
tations—that we  must  just  always  be  stumbling— are  wrong. 
They  are  strengthened  by  more  than  one  thing.  There  is  secret 
unwillingness  to  surrender  everything.  There  is  the  example 
of  so  many  sluggish  Christians.  There  is  the  unbelief  that  can- 
not quite  understand  that  God  will  really  keep  us.  There  is  the 
experience  of  so  many  disappointments,  when  we  have  striven 
in  our  own  power. 

2.  Let  no  stumbling  be  tolerated,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  tri- 
fling. 

1  Prov.  xxviii.  14 ;  Phil.  ii.  12  ;  i  Pet.  i.  17,  i8. 
'  2  Chron.  xx.  15  ;  Ps.  xviii.  30,  37,  xliv.  5,  9  ;  John  v.  4,  5  ;  Rom. 
xi.  20 ;  2  Cor.  i.  24  ;  i  Phil.  ii.  13. 
89 


XIX 
JESUS  THE  KEEPER. 

**  The  Lord  is  Thy  keeper :  .  .  .  The  Lord  shall  keep  thee 
from  all  evil ;  ...  He  shall  keep  thy  soul."— Ps.  cxxi.  4,  7. 

"I  know  Him  whom  I  have  believed,  and  I  am  persuaded 
that  He  is  able  to  guard  that  which  I  have  committed  unto 
Him*  against  that  day."— 2  Tim.  i.  12. 

FOR  young  disciples  of  Christ  who  are  still  weak, 
there  is  no  lesson  that  is  more  necessary  than 
this,  that  the  Lord  has  not  only  received  them,  but 
that  He  will  also  keep  them.^  The  lovely  name, 
**the  Lord  Thy  keeper,"  must  for  this  end  be  carried 
in  the  heart,  until  the  assurance  of  an  Almighty 
keeping  becomes  as  strong  with  us  as  it  was  with 
Paul,  when  he  spake  that  glorious  word:  **I  know 
Him  in  whom  I  have  believed,  and  I  am  persuaded 
that  He  is  able  to  guard  that  which  I  have  committed 
unto  Him  against  that  day."  Come  and  learn  this 
lesson  from  him. 

Learn  from  him  to  deposit  your  pledge  with  Jesus. 
Patil  had  surrendered  himself,  body  and  soul,  to  the 
Lord  Jesus :  that  was  His  pledge  which  he  had  de- 

1  Gen.  xxviii.  15  ;  Deut.  vii.  9,  xxxii.  10;  Ps.  xvii.  8,  Ixxxix.  33, 
34  ;  Rom.  xi.  2,  29. 

*  The  Dutch  version  has,  ' '  My  pledge,  which  I  deposited  with 
Him."— Tr. 

90 


Jesus  the  Keeper. 

posited  with  the  Lord.  You  also  surrendered  your- 
selves to  the  Lord,  but  perhaps  not  with  the  clear 
understanding  that  it  is  in  order  to  be  kept  every- 
day. Do  this  now  daily.  Deposit  your  soul  with 
Jesus  as  a  costly  pledge  that  He  will  keep  secure. 
Do  this  same  thing  with  every  part  of  your  life.  Is 
there  something  that  you  cannot  rightly  hold — your 
heart,  because  it  is  too  worldly;^  your  tongue,  be- 
cause it  is  too  idle ;  "^  your  temper,  because  it  is  too 
passionate ; '  your  calling  to  confess  the  Lord,  because 
you  are  too  weak  ?  *  Learn,  then,  to  deposit  it  as  a 
pledge  for  keeping  with  Jesus,  in  order  that  He  may 
fulfill  in  you  the  promise  of  God  about  it.  You  often 
pray  and  strive  too  much  in  vain  against  a  sin  :  it  is 
because,  although  this  is  done  with  God's  help,  you 
would  be  the  person  who  would  overcome.  No  :  en- 
trust the  matter  wholly  to  Jesus :  "  the  battle  is  not 
yours,  but  God's."  ^  Leave  it  in  His  hands  :  believe 
in  Him  to  do  it  for  you  :  "  This  is  the  victory  that 
hath  overcome  the  world,  even  your  faith."*  But 
you  must  first  place  it  wholly  out  of  your  hands  in 
His. 

Learn  from  Paul  to  set  your  confidence  only  on  the 
power  of  Jesus.  I  am  persuaded  that  He  is  able  to 
keep  my  pledge.     You  have  an  almighty  Jesus  to 

1  Ps.  xxxi,  6  ;  Jer.  xxxi.  33. 
*  Ps.  li.  17,  cxli.  3. 

»  Ps.  cxix.  165  ;  Jer.  xxvi.  3,  4 ;  John  xiv.  27 ;  Phil.  £▼.  6,  7 ;  » 
Thess.  iii.  16. 
*Isa.  1.  7  ;  Jer.  i.  9  ;  Matt.  x.  19,  20  ;  Luke  xxvi.  15. 
6  Ex.  xiv.  14;  Deut.  iii.  22,  xx.  4 ;  2  Chroa.  xx.  15. 
*Matt  ix.  23  ;  i  John  v.  3,  4. 

91 


The  New  Life. 

keep  you.  Faith  keeps  itself  occupied  only  with  His 
omnipotence.^  Let  your  faith  especially  be  strength- 
ened in  what  God  is  able  to  do  for  you.^  Expect 
with  certainty  from  Him  that  He  will  do  for  you 
great  and  glorious  things,  entirely  above  your  own 
strength.  See  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  how  constantly 
the  power  of  God  was  the  ground  of  the  trust  of  His 
people.  Take  these  words  and  hide  them  in  your 
heart.  Let  the  power  of  Jesus  fill  your  soul.  Ask 
only  :  **  What  is  my  Jesus  able  to  do?  "  What  you 
really  trust  Him  with,  He  is  able  to  keep.' 

And  learn  also  from  Paul  where  he  obtained  the 
assurance  that  this  power  would  keep  his  pledge  :  it 
was  in  his  knowledge  of  Jesus.  '*  I  know  Him  whom 
I  have  believed  : "  therefore  I  am  assured.*  You  can 
trust  the  power  of  Jesus,  if  you  know  that  He  is 
yours,  if  you  hold  converse  with  Him  as  your  friend. 
Then  you  can  say  :  '  *  I  know  whom  I  have  believed  : 
I  know  that  he  holds  me  very  dear  :  I  know  and  am 
assured  that  He  is  able  to  keep  my  pledge."  So 
runs  the  way  to  the  full  assurance  of  faith  :  Deposit 
your  pledge  with  Jesus ;  give  yourselves  wholly,  give 
everything,  into  His  hands ;  think  much  on  His 
might,  and  reckon  upon  Him  ;  and  live  with  Him  so 
that  you  may  always  know  who  He  is  in  whom  you 
have  believed. 

Young  disciples  of  Christ,  pray,  receive  this  word : 

1  Gen.  xvii.  i,  xviii.  14  ;  Jer.  xxxii.  17,  27  ;  Matt.  viii.  27,  xxviii. 
l8 ;  I,uke  i.  37,  49,  xviii.  27  ;  Rom.  iv.  21  ;  Heb.  xi.  18. 

2  Rom.  iv.  21,  xiv.  4  ;  2  Cor.  ix.  8  ;  2  Tim^.  i.  12. 

3  John  xiii.  i  ;  i  Cor.  i.  8,  9. 

<  John  X.  14,  28  ;  Gal.  ii.  20 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  18  ;  i  John  ii.  13,  14. 
92 


Jesus  the  Keeper. 


"  The  Lord  is  thy  keeper.''  For  every  weakness, 
every  temptation,  learn  to  deposit  your  soul  with 
Him  as  a  pledge.  You  can  reckon  upon  it,  you  can 
shout  joyfully  over  it:  "The  Lord  shall  keep  you 
from  all  evil."  ^ 


Holy  Jesus,  I  take  Thee  as  my  keeper.  Let  Thy 
name,  "  The  Lord  thy  keeper,"  sound  as  a  song  in 
my  heart  the  whole  day.  Teach  me  in  every  need  to 
deposit  my  case  as  a  pledge  with  Thee,  and  to  be 
assured  that  Thou  art  able  to  keep  it.     Amen. 

1.  There  was  once  a  woman  who  for  years  long,  and  with 
much  prayer,  had  striven  against  her  temper,  but  could  not 
obtain  the  victory.  On  a  certain  day  she  resolved  not  to  come 
out  of  her  room  until  by  earnest  prayer  she  had  the  power  to 
overcome.  She  went  out  in  the  opinion  that  she  should  succeed. 
Scarcely  had  she  been  in  the  household,  when  something  gave 
her  offence  and  caused  her  to  be  angry.  She  was  deeply 
ashamed,  burst  into  tears,  and  hastened  back  to  her  room.  A 
daughter,  who  understood  the  way  of  faith  better  than  she, 
went  to  her  and  said,  "Mother,  I  have  observed  your  conflict: 
may  I  tell  you  what  I  think  the  hindrance  is?"  "Yes,  my 
child."  "  Mother,  you  struggle  against  temper,  and  pray  that 
the  I,ord  may  help  you  to  overcome.  This  is  wrong.  The  Lord 
must  do  it  alone.  You  must  give  temper  wholly  iuto  His  hands  : 
then  He  takes  it  wholly,  and  He  keeps  you."  The  mother 
could  not  at  first  understand  this,  but  later  it  was  made  plain 
to  her.  And  she  enjoyed  the  blessedness  of  the  life  in  which 
Jesus  keeps  us,  and  we  by  faith  have  the  victory.  Do  you  un- 
derstand this? 

2.  "  The  Lord  must  help  me  to  overcome  sin  :  "  the  expression 
is  altogether  outside  of  the  New  Testament.    The  grace  of  God 

1  Josh.  i.  9  ;  Ps.  xxiii.  4 ;  Rom.  viii.  3s,  39. 

93 


The  New  Life. 

in  the  soul  does  not  become  a  help  to  us.  He  will  do  everjrthing : 
•*  The  Spirit  has  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin." 

3.  When  you  surrender  anything  to  the  Lord  for  keeping,  take 
heed  to  two  things  :  that  you  give  it  wholly  into  His  hands  ;  and 
that  you  have  it  there.  Let  Him  have  it  wholly :  He  will  carry 
out  your  case  gloriously. 

94 


XX. 

POWER  AND  WEAKNESS. 

"  He  hath  said  unto  me,  My  power  is  made  perfect  in  weak- 
ness. Therefore  will  I  glory  in  my  weaknesses,  that  the  strength 
of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me.  Wherefore  I  take  pleasure  in 
weaknesses  :  for  when  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong." — 2  Cor. 
xii.  9,  10. 

THERE  is  almost  no  word  that  is  so  imperfectly- 
understood  in  the  Christian  life  as  the  word 
weakness.  Sin  and  shortcoming,  sluggishness  and 
disobedience,  are  set  to  the  account  of  our  weakness. 
With  this  appeal  to  weakness,  the  true  feeling  of 
guilt  and  the  sincere  endeavor  after  progress  are  im- 
possible. How,  pray,  can  I  be  guilty,  when  I  do  not 
do  what  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  do  ?  The  Father 
cannot  demand  of  His  child  what  He  can  certainly 
do  independently.  That,  indeed,  was  done  by  the 
law  under  the  Old  Covenant ;  but  that  the  Father, 
under  the  New  Covenant,  does  not  do.  He  requires 
of  us  nothing  more  than  what  He  has  prepared  for 
us  power  to  do  in  His  Holy  Spirit.  The  new  life  is  a 
life  in  the  power  of  Christ  through  the  Spirit. 

The  error  of  this  mode  of  thinking  is  that  people 
estimate  their  weakness,   not  too   highly,   but  too 
meanly.     They  would  still  do  something  by  the  ex- 
ercise of  all  their  powers,  and  with  the  help  of  God. 
95 


The  New  Life. 

They  know  not  that  they  must  be  nothing  before 
God.^  You  think  that  you  have  still  a  little  strength, 
and  that  the  Father  must  help  you  by  adding  some- 
thing of  His  own  power  to  your  feeble  energ}\  This 
thought  is  wrong.  Your  weakness  appears  in  the 
fact  that  you  can  do  nothing.  It  is  better  to  speak  of 
utter  inability — that  is  what  the  Scriptures  under- 
stand by  the  word  "weakness. "  "Apart  from  me  ye 
can  do  nothing,"     **  In  us  is  no  power."  "^ 

Whenever  the  young  Christian  acknowledges  and 
assents  to  this  his  weakness,  then  he  learns  to  under- 
stand the  secret  of  the  power  of  Jesus.  He  then  sees 
that  he  is  not  to  wait  and  pray  to  become  stronger, 
to  feel  stronger.  No  :  in  his  inability,  he  is  to  have 
the  power  of  Jesus.  By  faith  he  is  to  receive  it ;  he 
is  to  reckon  that  it  is  for  him,  and  that  Jesus  Himself 
will  work  in  and  by  him.^  It  then  becomes  clear  to 
him  what  the  Lord  means  when  He  says,  **  My  power 
is  made  perfect  in  your  weakness."  He  knows  to 
return  the  answer,  "  When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I — 
yea,  then  am  I — strong."  Yea,  the  weaker  I  am,  the 
stronger  I  become.  And  he  learns  to  sing  with  Paul, 
" I  shall  glory  in  my  weakneaees."  " I  take  pleasure 
in  weaknesses."     "We  rejoice  when  we  are  weak."  * 

It  is  wonderful  how  glorious  that  life  of  faith  be- 
comes for  him  who  is  content  to  have  nothing,  or  feel 
nothing,  in  himself,  and  always  to  live  on  the  power 

1  Rom.  iv.  4,  5,  xi.  6 ;  i  Cor.  i.  27,  28. 
22  Chron.  xvi  9,  xx.  12 ;  John  v.  19,  xv.  5  ;  2  Cor.  i.  9. 
8  John  XV.  5 ;  1  Cor.  i.  24,  xv.  10;  Eph.  i.  18,  19  ;  Col  i.  11. 
*2  Cor.  xi.  30,  xii.  9,  11,  xiii   4,  9. 


Power  and  Weakness. 

of  His  Lord.  He  leains  to  understand  what  a  joyful 
thing  it  is  to  know  God  as  his  strength.  "The  Lord 
is  my  strength  and  song."^  He  lives  in  what  the 
Psalms  so  often  express:  "  I  love  Thee,  O  Lord,  my 
strength  ;  "  "I  will  sing  of  Thy  strength  :  unto  Thee, 
O  my  strength,  will  I  sing  praises.'"*  He  under- 
stands what  is  meant  when  a  psalm  says,  "  Give 
strength  to  the  Lord  :  the  Lord  will  give  strength  to 
His  people; "  and  when  another  says,  ' '  Give  strength 
to  God :  the  God  of  Israel,  He  giveth  strength  and 
power  to  His  people. '  * '  When  we  give  or  ascribe  all 
the  power  to  God,  then  He  gives  it  to  us  again. 

"  I  have  written  unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye 
are  strong,  and  the  word  of  God  abideth  in  you,  and 
ye  have  overcome  the  Evil  One. ' '  The  Christian  is 
strong  in  his  Lord :  *  not  sometimes  strong  and  some- 
times weak,  but  always  weak,  and  therefore  always 
strong.  He  has  merely  to  know  and  use  his  strength 
trustfully.  To  be  strong  is  a  command,  a  behest  that 
must  be  obeyed.  On  obedience  there  comes  more 
strength.  ''  Be  strong.  .  .  and  He  shall  strengthen 
thine  heart."  In  faith  the  Christian  must  simply 
obey  the  command,  '  *  Be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in 
the  power  of  His  might. "  * 


The  God  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  Father  of  glory, 
give  unto  us  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  of  revelation 

1  Ps.  Ixxxix.  i8,  cxviii.  14 ;  Jer.  xii.  2. 

2Ps.  xviii.  2,  xxviii.  7,  8,  xxxi.  5,  xliii.  2,  xlvi.  2,  lix.  17,  18,  Ixii. 
8,  Ixxxi.  2. 

*  Ps.  xxix.  I,  II,  Ixviii,  35,  36.  *  Ps.  Ixxi.  16 ;  i  John  ii.  14. 

'  Ps.  xxvii.  14,  xxxi.  25  ;  Isa.  xl.  31  ;  Eph.  vi.  10. 

7  97 


The  New  Life. 


in  the  knowledge  of  Jesus,  that  we  may  know  what 
is  the  exceeding  greatness  of  His  power  to  usward 
who  believe.     Amen. 

1.  So  long  as  the  Christian  thinks  of  the  service  of  God  or  of 
sanctification  as  something  that  is  hard  and  difficult,  he  will 
make  no  progress  in  it.  He  must  see  that  this  very  thing  is  for 
him  impossible.  Then  he  will  cease  still  endeavoring  to  do 
something ;  he  will  surrender  himself  that  Christ  may  work  all 
in  him.  See  these  thoughts  set  forth  in  detail  in  Professor  Hof- 
meyr'sbook,  Out  of  Darkness  into  Light  :  a  Course  of  Instruction 
on  Conversion,  the  Surrender  of  Faith,  and  Sanctification  *  (J.  H. 
Rose,  Cape  Town),  chapter  third  and  following  of  the  third 
part. 

2.  The  complaint  about  weakness  is  often  nothing  else  than 
an  apology  for  our  idleness.  There  is  power  to  be  obtained  in 
Christ  for  those  who  will  take  the  pains  to  have  it. 

3.  "  Be  strong  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  power  of  His  might." 
Mind  that.  I  must  abide  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  power  of  His 
might,  then  I  become  strong.  To  have  His  power  I  must  have 
Himself  The  strength  is  His,  and  continues  His  ;  the  weakness 
continues  mine.  He,  the  Strong,  works  in  me,  the  weak  ;  I, 
the  weak,  abide  by  faith  in  Him,  the  Strong ;  so  that  I,  in  the 
self-same  moment,  know  myself  to  be  weak  and  strong. 

4.  Strength  is  for  work.  He  who  would  be  strong  simply  to 
be  pious,  will  not  be  so.  He  who  in  his  weakness  begins  to 
work  for  the  Lord,  shall  become  strong. 

*  Professor  N.  J.  Hofmeyr  is  senior  professor  of  the  Theologi- 
cal College  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  Stellenbosch,  Cape 
Colony.  The  volume  referred  to  has  been  recently  published  in 
English  under  the  title,  The  Blessed  Life  :  How  to  Find  and  Live 
It  (J.  Nisbet  fit  Co.).— Tr. 


98 


XXI. 

THE  LIFE  OF  FEELING. 

*  We  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight." — 2  Cor.  v.  7. 

"  Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed.'* 
—John  xi.  29. 

"  Said  I  not  unto  thee,  that,  if  thou  believedst,  thou  shouldest 
see  the  glory  of  God  ?  "— John  xi.  40. 

IN  connection  with  your  conversion  there  was  no 
greater  hindrance  in  your  way  than  feeling.  You 
thought,  perhaps  for  years,  that  you  must  experience 
something,  must  feel  and  perceive  something  in  your- 
selves. It  was  to  you  as  if  it  were  too  hazardous  thus 
simply,  and  without  some  feeling,  to  believe  in  the 
word,  and  be  sure  that  God  had  received  you,  and 
that  your  sins  were  forgiven.  But  at  last  you  have 
had  to  acknowledge  that  the  way  of  faith,  without 
feeling,  was  the  way  of  the  word  of  God.  And  it  has 
been  to  you  the  way  of  salvation.  Through  faith 
alone  have  you  been  saved,  and  your  soul  has  found 
rest  and  peace.  ^ 

In  the  further  life  of  the  Christian  there  is  no 
temptation  that  is  more  persistent  and  more  danger- 
ous than  this  same  feeling.  The  word  "  feeling  "  we 
do  not  find  in  Scripture,  but  what  we  call  '  *  feeling '  * 
the  Scripture  calls  "  seeing."     And  it  tells  us  without 

1  John  iii.  36  ;  Rom.  \ii.  28,  iv.  5,  16,  v.  x. 
99 


The  New  Life. 

ceasing  that  not  seeing,  but  believing,  that  believing 
right  in  opposition  to  what  we  see,  gives  salvation. 
"Abraham,  not  being  weak  in  faith,  considered  not 
his  own  body."  *  Faith  adheres  simply  to  what  God 
says.  The  unbelief  that  would  see  shall  not  see  ;  the 
faith  that  will  not  see,  but  has  enough  in  God,  shall 
see  the  glory  of  God.^  The  man  who  seeks  for  feel- 
ing, and  mourns  about  it,  shall  not  find  it ;  the  man 
who  cares  not  for  it  shall  have  it  overflowing.  ' '  Who- 
soever would  save  his  life  shall  lose  it,  and  who- 
soever shall  lose  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it." 
Faith  in  the  word  becomes  later  on  sealed  with  true 
feeling  by  the  Holy  Spirit.^ 

Child  of  God,  learn  to  live  by  faith.  Let  it  be  fixed 
with  you  that  faith  is  God's  way  to  a  blessed  life. 
When  there  is  no  feeling  of  liveliness  in  prayer, 
when  you  feel  cold  and  dull  in  the  inner  chamber, 
live  by  faith.  Let  your  faith  look  upon  Jesus  as  near, 
upon  His  power  and  faithfulness,  and  though  you 
have  nothing  to  bring  to  Him,  believe  that  He  will 
give  you  all.  Feeling  always  seeks  something  in 
itself;  faith  keeps  itself  occupied  with  what  Jesus 
is.^  When  you  read  the  word,  and  have  no  feeling  of 
interest  or  blessing,  read  it  yet  again  in  faith.     The 

1  2  Chron.  vii.  2  ;  Ps.  xxvii.  13  ;  Isa.  vii.  9 ;  Matt.  xiv.  30,  31  ; 
IvUke  V.  5. 

2  John  xii.  25  ;  Gal.  iii.  2,  14  ;  Eph.  i.  13. 

8  Rom.  iv.  20,  21  ;  2  Tim.  i.  12  ;  Heb.  ix.  5,6 ;  Jas.  iii.  16,  vi.  16. 

*The  Dutch  version  here  renders  as  our  Authorized.  The 
R.  V.  has— "Without  being  weakened  in  faith,  he  considered 
his  own  body,"  etc.;  but  the  same  victory  of  faith  over  sight  is 
implied.— Tr. 

100 


The  Life  of  Feeling. 

word  will  work  and  bring  blessing;  **the  word 
worketh  in  those  that  believe."  When  you  feel  no 
love,  believe  in  the  love  of  Jesus,  and  say  in  faith 
that  He  knows  that  you  still  love  Him.  When  you 
have  no  feeling  of  gladness,  believe  in  the  inexpressi- 
ble joy  that  there  is  in  Jesus  for  you.  Faith  is 
blessedness,  and  will  give  joy  to  those  who  are  not 
concerned  about  the  self-sufficiency  that  springs  from 
joy,  but  about  the  glorification  of  God  that  springs 
from  faith, ^  Jesus  will  surely  fulfill  His  word: 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have 
believed."  *  *  Said  I  not  unto  thee,  that,  if  thou  be- 
lievedst,  thou  shouldest  see  the  glory  of  God  ? " 

Betwixt  the  life  of  feeling  and  the  life  of  faith  the 
Christian  has  to  choose  every  day.  Happy  is  he  who, 
once  for  all,  has  made  the  firm  choice,  and  every 
morning  renews  the  choice,  not  to  seek  or  listen  for 
feeling,  but  only  to  walk  by  faith,  according  to  the 
will  of  God.  The  faith  that  keeps  itself  occupied 
with  the  word,  with  what  God  has  said,  and,  through 
the  word,  with  God  Himself  and  Jesus  His  Son,  shall 
taste  the  blessedness  of  a  life  in  God  above.  Feeling 
seeks  and  aims  at  itself;  faith  honors  God,  and  shall 
be  honored  by  Him.  Faith  pleases  God,  and  shall 
receive  from  Him  the  witness  in  the  heart  of  the  be- 
liever that  he  is  acceptable  to  God. 


Lord   God,  the  one,   the  only,  thing  that  Thou 
desirest  of  Thy  children  is  that  they  should  trust 

1  Rom.  XV.  13  ;  Gal.  ii.  20  ;  i  Pet.  L  5,  7,  8. 
lOI 


The  New  Life. 


Thee,  and  that  they  should  always  hold  converse 
with  Thee  in  that  faith.  Lord,  let  it  be  the  one 
thing  in  which  I  seek  my  happiness,  to  honor  and  to 
please  Thee  by  a  faith  that  firmly  holds  Thee,  the  In- 
visible, and  trusts  Thee  in  all  things.     Amen. 

1.  There  is  indeed  something  marvelous  in  the  new  life.  It  is 
difficult  to  make  it  clear  to  the  young  Christian.  The  Spirit  of 
God  teaches  him  to  understand  it  after  he  perseveres  in  grace. 
Jesus  has  laid  the  foundation  of  that  life  in  the  first  word  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount :  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs 
is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  "  a  feeling  of  deep  poverty  and  of 
royal  riches,  of  utter  weakness  and  of  kingly  might  exist 
together  in  the  soul.  To  have  nothing  in  itself,  to  have  all  in 
Christ — that  is  the  secret  of  faith.  And  the  true  secret  of  faith 
is  to  bring  this  into  exercise,  and,  in  hours  of  barrenness  and 
emptiness,  still  to  know  that  we  have  all  in  Christ. 

2.  Forget  not  that  the  faith,  of  which  God's  word  speaks  so 
much,  stands  not  only  in  opposition  to  works,  but  also  in  oppo- 
sition to  feeling,  and  therefore  that  for  a  pure  life  of  faith  you 
must  cease  to  seek  your  salvation,  not  only  in  works,  but  also  in 
faith.  Therefore  let  faith  always  speak  against  feeling.  When 
feeling  says,  "  In  myself,  I  am  sinful ;  I  am  dark  ;  I  am  weak  ; 
I  am  poor  ;  I  am  sad ; "  let  faith  say,  "  In  Christ,  I  am  holy ;  I 
am  light ;  I  am  strong ;  I  am  rich ;  I  am  joyful." 

I02 


XXII. 
THE  HOI.Y  GHOST. 

•'And  because  ye  are  sons,  God  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  His 
Son  into  our  hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father."— Gal.  iv.  6. 

THE  great  gift  of  the  Father,  through  whom  He 
obtained  salvation  and  brought  it  near  to  us,  is 
the  Son.  On  the  other  hand,  the  great  gift  of  the 
Son,  whom  He  sends  to  us  from  the  Father,  to  apply 
to  us  an  inner  and  effectual  salvation,  is  the  Holy 
Spirit.^  As  the  Son  reveals  and  glorifies  the  Father, 
so  the  Spirit  reveals  and  glorifies  the  Son.^  The 
Spirit  is  in  us  to  transfer  to  us  the  life  and  the  salva- 
tion that  are  prepared  in  Jesus,  and  to  make  them 
wholly  ours.^  Jesus  who  is  in  heaven  is  made  present 
in  us,  dwells  in  us,  by  the  Spirit.  We  have  seen  that 
in  order  to  become  partaker  of  Jesus  there  are  always 
two  things  necessary  :  the  knowledge  of  the  sin  that 
is  in  us,  and  of  the  redemption  that  is  in  Him.  It  is 
the  Holy  Spirit  who  continually  promotes  this  double 
work  in  believers.  He  reproves  and  comforts.  He 
convinces  of  sin  and  He  glorifies  Christ.* 
The  Spirit  convinces  of  sin.     He  is  the  light  and 

J  John  vii.  38,  xiv.  16,  26  ;  Acts  i.  4,  ii.  33 ;  1  Cor.  iii.  16. 
2  John  XV.  26,  xvi.  14,  15  ;  i  Cor.  ii.  8,  12,  xii.  3. 
'Job  xiv.  17,  21  ;  Rom.  viii.  2  ;  Kph.  iii.  17,  19. 
<  John  xvi.  9,  14. 

103 


The  New  Life. 

the  fire  of  God,  through  whom  sin  is  unveiled  and 
consumed.  He  is  "the  Spirit  of  judgment  and  of 
burning,"  by  whom  God  purifies  His  people.^  To 
the  anxious  soul  who  complains  that  he  does  not  feel 
his  sin  deeply  enough,  we  must  often  say  that  there 
is  no  limit  as  to  how  deep  his  repentance  must  be. 
He  must  come  daily  just  as  he  is  ;  the  deepest  convic- 
tion oftentimes  comes  after  conversion.  To  the 
young  convert  we  have  simply  to  say  :  let  the  Spirit 
who  is  in  you  convince  you  always  of  sin.  Sin, 
which  formerly  you  knew  but  by  name,  He  will 
make  you  hate.  Sin,  which  you  had  not  seen  in  the 
hidden  depths  of  your  heart,  He  will  make  you 
know,  and  with  shame  confess.  Sin,  of  which  you 
fancied  that  it  was  not  with  you,  and  which  you  had 
judged  severely  in  others,  He  will  point  out  to  you 
in  yourself^  And  He  will  teach  you  with  repentance 
and  self-condemnation  to  cast  yourself  upon  grace  as 
entirely  sinful,  in  order  to  be  thereby  redeemed  and 
purified  from  it. 

Beloved  brother,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  in  you  as  the 
light  and  fire  of  God  to  unveil  and  to  consume  sin. 
The  temple  of  God  is  holy,  and  this  temple  you  are. 
Let  the  Holy  Spirit  in  you  have  full  mastery  to  point 
out  and  expel  sin.'  After  He  makes  you  know  sin, 
He  will  at  every  turn  make  you  know  Jesus  as  your 
life  and  your  sanctification. 

1  Isa.  iv.  4  ;  Zech.  xii.  lo,  ii ;  Matt.  iii.  ii,  la. 

2ps.  cxxxix.  7,  23  ;  Isa.  x.  17  ;  Matt.  vii.  5  ;  Rom.  xiv.  4 ;  i  Cor. 
U.  10,  xiv.  34,  35. 

•Ps.  xix.  13,  cxxxix.  33 ;  Mic.  iii.  8 ;  i  Cor.  iii.  17 ;  a  Cor.  iii.  17, 
Vii6. 

104 


The  Holy  Ghost. 

And  then  shall  the  Spirit  who  rebukes  also  comfort. 
He  will  glorify  Jesus  in  you,  will  take  what  is  in 
Jesus  and  make  it  known  to  you.  He  will  give  you 
knowledge  concerning  the  power  of  Jesus'  blood  to 
cleanse,'  and  the  power  of  Jesus'  indwelling  to  keep.^ 
He  will  make  you  see  how  literally,  how  completely, 
how  certainly  Jesus  is  with  you  every  moment,  to  do 
Himself  all  his  own  Jesus-work  in  you.  Yea,  in  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  living,  almighty,  and  ever-present 
Jesus  shall  be  your  portion ;  you  shall  also  know 
this,  and  have  the  full  enjoyment  of  it.  The  Holy 
Spirit  will  teach  you  to  bring  all  your  sin  and  sinful- 
ness to  Jesus,  and  to  know  Jesus  with  His  complete 
redemption  from  sin  as  your  own.  As  the  Spirit  of 
sanctification,  He  will  drive  out  sin  in  order  that  He 
may  cause  Jesus  to  dwell  in  you.' 

Beloved  young  Christian,  take  time  to  understand 
and  to  become  filled  with  the  truth  :  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  in  you.  Review  all  the  assurances  of  God's  word 
that  this  is  so.*  Pray,  think  not  for  a  moment  of 
living  as  a  Christian  without  the  indwelling  of  the 
Spirit.  Take  pains  to  have  your  heart  filled  with  the 
faith  that  the  Spirit  dwells  in  you,  and  will  do  His 
mighty  work,  for  through  faith  the  Spirit  comes  and 
works  ^  Have  a  great  reverence  for  the  work  of  the 
Spirit  in  you.     Seek  Him  every  day  to  believe,  to 

1  I  John  i.  7,  V.  8. 

*  John  xiv.  ai,  23  ;  Eph.  iii.  17 ;  i  John  iii.  24,  iv.  13. 
3  Rom.  i.  4,  V.  5,  viii.  a,  13 ;  i  Pet.  i.  2. 

♦  Rom.  viii.  14,  16 ;  i  Cor.  vi.  19 ;  a  Cor.  i.  aa,  vi.  x6 ;  Sph. 
ii3. 

6  Gal.  iii.  2,  5,  14,  v.  5. 

los 


The  New  Life. 

obey,  to  trust,  and  He  will  take  and  make  known  to 
you  all  that  there  is  in  Jesus.  He  will  make  Jesus 
very  glorious  to  you  and  in  you. 

O  my  Father,  I  thank  thee  for  this  gift  which 
Jesus  sent  me  from  Thee,  the  Father.  I  thank  Thee 
that  I  am  now  the  temple  of  Thy  Spirit,  and  that  He 
dwells  in  me. 

Lord,  teach  me  to  believe  this  with  the  whole 
heart,  and  to  live  in  the  world  as  one  who  knows 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  in  him  to  lead  him.  Teach 
me  to  think  with  deep  reverence  and  filial  awe  on 
this,  that  God  is  in  me.  Lord,  in  that  faith  I  have 
the  power  to  be  holy. 

Holy  Spirit,  reveal  to  me  all  that  sin  is  in  me. 
Holy  Spirit,  reveal  to  me  all  that  Jesus  is  in  me. 
Amen. 

1.  The  knowledge  of  the  person  and  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  for  us  of  just  as  much  importance  as  the  knowledge  of 
the  person  and  the  work  of  Christ. 

2.  Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  must  endeavor  especially  to 
hold  fast  the  truth  that  He  is  given  as  the  fruit  of  the  work  of 
Jesus  for  us,  that  he  is  the  power  of  the  life  of  Jesus  in  us,  and 
that  through  Him,  Jesus  Himself,  with  his  full  salvation,  dwells 
in  us. 

3.  In  order  to  enjoy  all  this,  we  must  be  filled  with  the  Spirit. 
This  simply  means,  emptied  of  all  else  and  full  of  Jesns.  To 
deny  ourselves,  to  take  up  the  cross,  to  follow  Jesus :  this  is  the 
way  to  be  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  Jesus.  Or  rather,  this  is  the 
way  in  which  the  Spirit  leads  us  to  His  fulness.  No  one  has  the 
power  to  enter  fully  into  the  death  of  Jesus  but  he  who  is  led  by 
the  Spirit.  But  He  takes  him  that  desires  this  by  the  hand  and 
brings  him. 

4.  As  the  whole  of  salvation,  the  whole  of  the  new  life  is  by 
fidth,  so  is  this  also  true  of  the  gift  and  the  working  of  the  Holy 

106 


The  Holy  Ghost. 


Spirit.    By  faith,  not  by  works— not  in  feeling,  do  I  receive  Him, 
am  I  led  by  Him,  am  I  filled  with  Him. 

5.  As  clear  and  definite  as  my  faith  is  in  the  work  that  Jesus 
only  and  alone  finished  for  me,  so  clear  and  definite  must  faith 
be  in  the  work  that  the  Holy  Spirit  accomplishes  in  me,  to  work 
in  me  the  willing  and  the  performing  of  all  that  is  necessary  for 
my  salvation. 

107 


XXIII. 

THE  LEADING  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

"  As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  these  are  sons  of 
God.  The  Spirit  Himself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that 
we  are  children  of  God." — Rom.  viii.  14.  16. 

IT  is  the  very  same  Spirit  that  leads  us  as  children 
who  also  assures  us  that  we  are  children.  With- 
out His  leading  there  can  be  no  assurance  of  our  fili- 
ation. True,  full  assurance  of  faith  is  enjoyed  by 
him  who  surrenders  himself  entirely  to  the  leading 
of  the  Spirit. 

In  what  does  this  leading  consist?  Chiefly  in  this, 
that  our  whole  hidden  inner  life  is  guided  by  Him  to 
what  it  ought  to  be.  This  we  must  firmly  believe. 
Our  growth  and  increase,  our  development  and  pro- 
gress, is  not  our  work,  but  His  :  we  are  to  trust  Him 
for  this.  As  a  tree  or  animal  grows  and  becomes 
large  by  the  spirit  of  life  which  God  has  given  to  it, 
so  also  does  the  Christian  by  the  Spirit  of  life  in 
Christ  Jesus.^  We  have  to  cherish  the  joyal  assur- 
ance that  the  Spirit  whom  the  Father  gives  to  us 
does  with  divine  wisdom  and  power  guide  our  hidden 
life,  and  bring  it  where  God  will  have  it. 

Then  there  are  also  special  directions  of  this  lead- 

1  Hos.  xiv.  6,  7  ;  Matt.  vi.  28  ;  Mark  iv.  26,  28  ;  I,uke  ii.  40 . 
Rom.  viii.  2. 

108 


The  Leading  of  the  Spirit. 

ing.  " He  will  lead  you  into  all  the  truth."  When 
we  read  the  word  of  God,  we  are  to  wait  upon  Him, 
to  make  us  experience  the  truth,  the  essential 
power  of  what  God  says.  He  makes  the  word  living 
and  powerful.  He  leads  us  into  a  life  corresponding 
to  the  word.i 

When  you  pray  you  can  reckon  upon  His  leading : 
"The  Spirit  helpeth  our  infirmities."  He  leads  us 
to  what  we  must  desire.  He  leads  us  into  the  way  in 
which  we  are  to  pray,  trustfully,  persistently,  mightily.* 

In  the  way  of  sanctification  it  is  He  that  will  lead  : 
He  leads  us  in  the  path  of  righteousness.  He  leads 
us  into  all  the  will  of  God.^ 

In  our  speaking  and  working  for  the  Ivord,  He  will 
lead.  Every  child  has  the  Spirit:  every  child  has 
need  of  Him  to  know  and  to  do  the  work  of  the 
Father.  Without  him  no  child  can  please  or  serve 
the  Father.  The  leading  of  the  Spirit  is  the  blessed 
privilege,  the  sure  token,  the  only  power  of  a  child 
of  God.* 

And  how  then  can  you  fully  enjoy  this  leading? 
The  first  thing  that  is  necessary  for  this  is  faith. 
You  must  take  time,  young  Christian,  to  have  your 
heart  filled  with  the  deep  and  living  consciousness 
that  the  Spirit  is  in  you.  Read  all  the  glorious  decla- 
rations of  your  Father  in  His  word  concerning  what 
the  Spirit  is  in  you  and  for  you,  until  the  conviction 

1  John  vi.  63,  xiv.  26,  xvi.  13  ;  i  Cor.  ii.  10,  14  ;  i  Thess.  ii.  13. 
^Zech.  xii.  10  ;  Rom.  viii.  26,  27  ;  Jude  12,  30. 
^i  Cor  vi.  19,  30 ;  i  Pet.  i.  2,  15. 

4  Mact.  X.  20 ;  Acts  i.  8  ;  Rom.  viii.  9,  13  ;  Gal.  iv.  6 ;  Eph.  i-  13. 
109 


The  New  Ufe. 

•wholly  fills  you  that  you  are  really  a  temple  of  the 
Spirit.  Ignorance  or  unbelief  on  this  point  makes 
it  impossible  for  the  Spirit  to  speak  in  you  and  to 
lead  you.  Cherish  an  ever-abiding  assurance  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwells  in  you.^ 

Then  the  second  thing  that  is  necessary  is  this : 
you  are  to  hold  yourself  still,  to  attend  to  the  voice 
of  the  Spirit.  As  the  Lord  Jesus  acts,  so  does  also 
the  Spirit :  "  He  shall  not  cry  nor  lift  up  His  voice. ' ' 
He  whispers  gently  and  quietly  :  only  the  soul  that 
sets  itself  very  silently  towards  God  can  perceive  His 
voice  and  guidance.  When  we  become  to  a  needless 
extent  engrossed  with  the  world,  with  its  business,  its 
cares,  its  enjoyments,  its  literature,  its  politics,  the 
Spirit  cannot  lead  us.  When  our  service  of  God  is  a 
bustling  and  working  in  our  own  wisdom  and 
strength,  the  Spirit  cannot  be  heard  in  us.  It  is  the 
weak,  the  simple,  who  are  willing  to  have  themselves 
taught  in  humility,  that  receive  the  leading  of  the 
Spirit.  Sit  down  every  morning,  sit  down  often  in 
the  day,  to  say  :  Lord  Jesus,  I  know  nothing,  I  will 
be  silent :  let  the  Spirit  lead  me.' 

And  then  :  be  obedient.  Listen  to  the  inner  voice, 
and  do  what  it  says  to  you.  Fill  your  heart  every 
day  with  the  word,  and  when  the  Spirit  puts  you  in 
mind  of  what  the  word  says,  betake  yourself  to  the 
doing  of  it.    So  you  become  capable  of  further  teach- 

1  Acts  xix.  a  ;    Rom.  v.  5  ;    i  Cor.  iii.  16  ;    2  Cor.  v.  5  ;    Gal.  iii. 

5,  14- 

*  I  Chron.  xix.  12  ;  Ps.  Ixii.  2,  6,  cxxxL  i  ;  Isa.  xlii.  2  ;  Hab.  ii, 
20 ;  Zech.  iv.  6  ;  Acts  i.  4. 

1 10 


The  Leading  of  the  Spirit, 

ing  :  it  is  to  the  obedient  that  the  full  blessing  of  the 
Spirit  is  promised.^ 

Young  Christian,  know  that  you  are  a  temple  of  the 
Spirit,  and  that  it  is  only  through  the  daily  leading 
of  the  Spirit  that  you  can  walk  as  a  child  of  God, 
with  the  witness  that  you  are  pleasing  the  Father. 


Precious  Saviour,  imprint  this  lesson  deeply  on  my 
mind.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  in  me.  His  leading  is 
every  day  and  everywhere  indispensable  for  me.  I 
cannot  hear  His  voice  in  the  word  when  I  do  not  wait 
silently  upon  Him.  lyord,  let  a  holy  circumspectness 
keep  watch  over  me,  that  I  may  always  walk  as  a 
pupil  of  the  Spirit.     Amen. 

1.  It  is  often  asked:  How  do  I  know  that  I  shall  continue 
standing,  that  I  shall  be  kept,  that  I  shall  increase  ?  The  ques- 
tion dishonors  the  Holy  Spirit— is  the  token  that  you  do  not 
know  Him  or  do  not  trust  Him.  The  question  indicates  that 
you  are  seeking  the  secret  of  strength  for  perseverance  in  your- 
self, and  not  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  your  heavenly  Guide. 

2.  As  God  sees  to  it,  that  every  moment  there  is  air  for  me  to 
"breathe,  so  shall  the  Holy  Spirit  unceasingly  maintain  life  in 
the  hidden  depths  of  my  soul.  He  will  not  break  off  His  own 
w^ork. 

3.  From  the  time  that  we  receive  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  have 
nothing  to  do  but  to  honor  His  work  :  to  keep  our  hands  ofi 
from  it,  and  to  trust  Him,  and  to  let  Him  work. 

4.  The  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  work  of  the  Spirit  is  to 
reveal  Jesus  to  me,  and  to  cause  me  to  abide  in  Him.  As  soon 
as  I  would  fain  look  after  the  work  of  the  Spirit  in  me,  I  hinder 
Him  :  He  cannot  work  when  I  am  not  willing  to  look  upon 
Jesus. 

J  John  xiv.  15,  i6  ;  Acts  v.  32. 
Ill 


The  New  Life. 

5.  The  voice  of  the  Father,  the  voice  of  the  good  Shepherd, 
the  voice  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  very  gentle.  We  must  learn  to 
become  deaf  to  other  voices,  to  the  world  and  its  news  of  friends 
and  their  thoughts,  to  our  own  Ego  and  its  desires  :  then  shall 
we  distinguish  the  voice  of  the  Spirit.  Let  us  often  set  ourselves 
silent  in  prayer,  entirely  silent,  to  oflfer  up  our  will  and  our 
thoughts,  and,  with  our  eye  upon  Jesus  to  keep  ear  and  heart 
open  for  the  voice  of  the  Spirit. 

112 


XXIV. 
GRIEVING  THE  SPIRIT. 

"  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  in  whom  you  were  sealed 
onto  the  day  of  redemption." — Eph.  iv.  jo. 

IT  is  by  the  Holy  Spirit  that  the  child  of  God  is 
sealed  :  separated  and  stamped  and  marked  as 
the  possession  of  God.  This  sealing  is  not  a  dead  or 
external  action  that  is  finished  once  for  all.  It  is  a 
living  process,  which  has  power  in  the  soul,  and 
gives  firm  assurance  of  faith,  only  when  it  is  experi- 
enced through  the  life  of  the  Spirit  in  us.  On  this 
account  we  are  to  take  great  care  not  to  grieve  the 
Spirit :  in  Him  alone  can  you  have  every  day  the 
joyful  certitude  and  the  full  blessing  of  your  child- 
ship.*  It  is  the  very  same  Spirit  that  leads  us  who 
witnesses  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  children  of  God. 
And  how  can  any  one  grieve  the  Spirit?  Above  all 
by  yielding  to  sin.  He  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  given  ta 
sanctify  us,  and  for  every  sin  from  which  the  blood 
cleanses  us,  to  fill  us  with  the  holy  life  of  God,  with 
God,     Sin  grieves  Him.^     For  this  reason  the  word 

^  Isa.  liii.  10 ;  Acts  vii.  51 ;  Heb.  x.  29. 

*  Kindschap—a.  word  coined  by  the  writer  to  express  the  rela- 
tion of  a  child.  Our  childhood  expresses  rather  the  state  or  stage 
of  child-life.— Tr. 

8  "3 


The  New  Life. 

^f  God  presently  states  by  name  the  sins  against 
which  above  all  we  are  to  be  on  our  guard.  Mark 
£^nly  the  four  great  sins  that  Paul  mentions  in  con- 
nection with  our  text. 

There  is  first  lying.  There  is  no  single  sin  that  in 
the  Bible  is  so  brought  into  connection  with  the  devil 
as  lying.  Lying  is  from  hell,  and  it  goes  on  to  hell. 
God  is  the  God  of  truth.  And  the  Holy  Spirit  can- 
not possibly  carry  forward  His  blessed  working  in  a 
man  or  woman  that  lies,  that  is  insincere,  that  does 
injury  to  the  truth.  Young  Christian,  review  with 
care  what  the  word  of  God  says  about  lying  and  liars, 
and  pray  God  that  you  may  never  speak  anything 
but  the  literal  truth.  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
God.i 

Then  there  is  anger.  ''Let  all  bitterness,  and  wrath, 
and  anger,  and  clamor,  and  evil-speaking,  be  put 
away  from  you."  Hastiness,  proneness  to  anger,  sin 
of  temper  is,  along  with  lying,  the  most  common  sin 
by  which  the  Christian  is  kept  back  from  increase  in 
grace.'  Christian,  let  all  passionateness  be  put  away 
from  you :  this  follows  on  the  command  not  to  grieve 
the  Spirit.  Believe  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  great 
power  of  God,  is  in  you.  Surrender  yourself  every 
day  to  His  indwelling,  in  faith  that  Jesus  can  keep 
you  by  Him  :  He  will  make  and  keep  you  gentle. 
Yea,  believe,  I  pray  you,  in  the  power  of  God,  and  of 

IPs,  V.  7;  Prov.  xii.  2a,  xxi.  28  ;  John  viii.  44;  Rev.  xxi.  8,  27 
xxii.  15. 

'Matt  V.  92,  46,  47;  I  Cor.  i.  10,  11,  iii.  3,  xiii  1,3;.  Gal.  v.  5,  xv 
■I,  26  ;  Col.  iii.  8,  12  ;  i  Thess.  v.  15;  Jas.  iii.  14. 
114 


Grieving  the  Spirit. 

Jesus  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  overcome  temper.* 
Confess  the  sin  :  God  shall  cleanse  you  from  it. 
Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 

Then  there  is  stealing  :  all  sin  against  the  property 
or  possession  of  my  neighbor :  all  deception  and  dis- 
honesty in  trade,  whereby  I  do  wrong  to  my  neigh- 
bor, and  seek  my  own  advantage  at  his  cost.  The 
law  of  Christ  is  love  whereby  I  seek  the  advantage  of 
my  neighbor  as  well  as  my  own.  O  the  love  of  money 
and  property,  which  is  inseparable  from  self-seeking 
— it  is  incompatible  with  the  leading  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  The  Christian  must  be  a  man  who  is  known 
as  honest  to  the  back-bone,  righteous,  and  loving  his 
neighbor  as  himself.'* 

Then  says  the  apostle:  " «(?  corrupt  speech — but 
such  as  is  good  for  edifying  as  the  case  maybe." 
Even  the  tongue  of  God's  child  belongs  to  his  Lord, 
He  must  be  known  by  his  mode  of  speech.  By  his 
speaking,  he  can  grieve  or  please  the  Spirit.  The 
sanctified  tongue  is  a  blessing  not  only  to  his  neigh- 
bors, but  to  the  speaker  himself.  Foul  talk,  idle 
words,  foolish  jests — they  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit. 
They  make  it  impossible  for  the  Spirit  to  sanctify 
and  to  comfort  and  to  fill  the  heart  with  the  love  of 
God.3 

Young  Christian,  I  pray  you,  grieve  not  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God  by  these  or  other  sins.     If  you  have 

^Matt.  xi.  29;  I  Cor.  vi.  19,  20;  Gal.  vi.  1  ;  Epb.  ii.  16,  17 ;  Col. 
i.  8  ;  2  Tim.  i.  12. 

2  Luke  vi.  31  ;  Rom.  xiii.  10 ;  i  Thess.  iv.  6. 

3  Prov.  X.  19,  20,  21,  31,  xviii.  20  ;  Eccles.  v.  i,  2  ;  Matt.  xii.  36  ,- 
Bph.  V.  4  ;  Jas.  iii.  9,  iq. 


The  New  Life. 

committed  such  sins,  confess  them,  and  God  will 
cleanse  you  from  them.  By  the  Holy  Spirit  you  are 
sealed  :  if  you  would  walk  in  the  stability  and  joy  of 
faith,  listen  to  the  word  :  "  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  God." 


Lord  God,  my  Father  in  heaven,  do,  I  pray  thee, 
cause  me  to  understand  what  marvelous  grace  Thou 
art  manifesting  to  me,  in  that  Thou  hast  given  to  me 
Thy  Holy  Spirit  in  my  heart.  Lord,  let  this  faith  be 
the  argument  and  the  power  for  cleansing  me  from 
every  sin.  Holy  Jesus,  sanctify  me,  that  in  my 
thinking,  speaking,  acting — in  all  things,  Thine  image 
may  appear.     Amen. 

I.  The  thought  of  the  Christian  about  this  word,  "Grieve  not 
the  Holy  Spirit"  is  a  touchstone  as  to  whether  he  understands 
the  life  of  faith. 

For  some  it  is  a  word  of  terror  and  fear.  A  father  once  brought 
a  child  to  the  train  to  go  on  a  journey  with  the  new  governess, 
with  whom  she  was  to  remain.  Before  her  departure  he  said  : 
"  I  hear  that  she  is  very  sensitive  and  takes  things  much  amiss  : 
take  care  that  you  do  nothing  to  grieve  her."  The  poor  child 
had  no  pleasant  journey  :  it  appeared  to  her  very  grievous  to  be 
in  anxious  fear  of  one  who  was  so  prone  to  take  anything  wrong 


This  is  the  view  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  many  have  :  a  Being 
whom  it  is  difficult  to  satisfy,  who  thinks  little  of  our  weakness, 
and  who,  even  though  we  take  pains,  is  discontented  when  our 
work  is  not  perfect. 

2.  Another  father  also  brought  his  daughter  to  the  train  to  go 
on  a  journey,  and  to  be  a  time  from  home:  but  in  company  with 
her  mother,  whom  she  loved  very  dearly.  "  You  are  to  be  a 
good  child,"  said  the  father,  "and  do  everything  to  please  your 
mamma;  otherwise  you  shall  grieve  her  and  me."  "Oh,cer 
ii6 


Grieving  the  Spirit. 


tainly,  papa  ! "  was  the  joyful  answer  of  the  child.  For  she  felt 
so  happy  to  be  with  her  mother,  and  was  willing  to  do  her 
utmost  to  be  agreeable  to  her. 

There  are  children  of  God  to  whom  the  Holy  Spirit  is  so  well 
known  in  His  tender,  helpful  love,  and  the  Comforter  and  the 
Good  Spirit,  that  the  word,  "  Grieve  not  the  Spirit  of  God  "  has 
for  them  a  gentle,  encou:aging  power.  May  our  fear  to  grieve 
Him  always  be  the  tender  childlike  fear  of  trustful  love. 
117 


XXV. 

FLESH  AND  SPIRIT. 

"And  I,  brethren,  could  not  speak  unto  you  as  unto  spiritual, 
but  as  unto  carnal,  as  unto  babes  in  Christ."— i  Cor.  iii.  i 

•'  I  am  carnal,  sold  under  sin  :  to  will  is  present  with  me,  but 
to  do  that  which  is  good  is  not.  The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in 
Christ  Jesus  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  of  death.  Ye 
are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of 
God  dwelleth  in  you." — Rom.  vii.  14,  18,  viii.  2,  9. 

"  Having  begun  in  the  Spirit,  are  ye  now  perfected  in  the 
flesh?  If  ye  are  led  by  the  Spirit,  ye  are  not  under  the  law.  If 
we  live  by  the  Spirit,  by  the  Spirit  let  us  also  walk."— Gal.  iii. 
3,  V.  18.  25. 

IT  is  of  great  importance  for  the  young  Christian  to 
understand  that  there  are  in  him  two  natures, 
which  strive  against  one  another.^  If  we  weigh  the 
texts  noted  above,  we  shall  see  that  the  word  of  God 
teaches  us  the  following  truths  on  this  point. 

Sin  comes  from  the  flesh  :  the  reason  why  the 
Christian  still  does  sin  is  that  he  yields  to  the  flesh 
and  does  not  walk  by  the  Spirit.  Every  Christian 
has  the  Spirit  and  lives  by  the  Spirit,  but  every 
Christian  does  not  walk  by  the  Spirit.  If  he  walks 
by  the  Spirit,  he  will  not  fulfill  the  desires  of  the 
flesh.' 

1  Gal.  V.  17,  24,  25,  vi.  8 ;   Eph.  iv.  22,  24  ;  Col.  iii.  9,  10  ;  i  Pet 
iv.  2. 
'Rom.  viii.  7  ;  i  Cor.  iii.  i,  3  ;  Gal.  v.  16,  25. 
118 


Flesh  and  Spirit. 

So  long  as  there  are  still  in  the  Christian  strife  and 
envy,  the  word  of  God  calls  him  carnal.  He  would 
indeed  do  good,  but  he  cannot :  he  does  what  he 
would  not,  because  he  still  strives  in  his  own  strength 
and  not  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit. ^ 

The  flesh  remains  under  the  law,  and  seeks  to  obey 
the  law.  But  through  the  flesh  the  law  is  powerless, 
and  the  endeavor  to  do  good  is  vain.  Its  language 
is  :  "I  am  carnal,  sold  under  sin  :  to  will  is  present 
with  me,  but  to  do  that  which  is  good  is  not. "  ' 

This  is  not  the  condition  in  which  God  would  have 
his  child  remain.  The  word  says :  *'  It  is  God  that 
worketh  in  you,  both  to  will  and  to  work."*  The 
Christian  must  not  only  live  by  the  Spirit,  but  also 
walk  by  the  Spirit.  He  must  be  a  spiritual  man,  and 
abide  entirely  under  the  leading  of  the  Spirit.'  If  he 
thus  walks,  he  will  no  longer  do  what  he  would  not. 
He  will  no  longer  remain  in  the  condition  of  Romans 
vii.,  as  a  new-born  babe,  still  seeking  to  fulfill  the 
law,  but  in  Romans  viii.,  as  one  who  through  the 
Spirit  is  made  free  from  the  law  with  its  command- 
ment, "do  this,"  which  gives  no  power,  but  brings 
death,  and  who  walks,  not  in  the  oldness  of  the  let- 
ter, but  in  the  newness  of  the  Spirit.* 

There  are  Christians  that  begin  with  the  Spirit,  but 
end  with  the  flesh.     They  are  converted,  born  again 

1  Rom.  vii.  i8  ;  i  Cor.  iii.  3  ;  Gal.  v.  15,  26. 

2  Rom.  iv.  14,  15,  vii.  4,  6,  viii.  3,  8  ;  Gal.  v.  18,  vi.  12,  13 ;  Heb. 
vii.  18,  viii.  9,  13. 

8  Rom.  viii.  14;  i  Cor.  ii.  15,  iii.  i  ;  Gal.  vi.  i. 
*  Rom.  vii.  6,  viii.  2,  13. 

♦The  Dutch  version  has — "  and  to  accomplish." — Tr. 
119 


The  Nev7  Life. 


through  the  Spirit,  but  fall  unconsciously  into  a  life 
in  which  they  endeavor  to  overcome  sin  and  be  holy 
through  their  own  exertion,  through  doing  their  best. 
They  ask  God  to  help  them  in  these  their  endeavors, 
and  think  that  this  is  faith.  They  do  not  understand 
what  it  is  to  say  :  ''  In  me,  that  is,  in  my  flesh,  dwell- 
eth  no  good  thing,"  and  that  therefore  they  are  to 
cease  from  their  own  endeavors,  in  order  to  do  God's 
will,  wholly  and  only  through  the  Spirit.^ 

Child  of  God,  pray,  learn  what  it  is  to  say  of  your- 
self, just  as  you  are,  even  after  the  new  birth  :  "I  am 
carnal,  sold  under  sin."  Endeavor  no  longer  to  be 
doing  your  best,  and  to  be  praying  to  God,  and  to  be 
trusting  Him  to  help  you.  No  :  learn  to  say  :  "The 
law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  made  me  free 
from  the  law  of  sin  and  of  death."  Let  your  work 
every  day  be  to  have  the  Spirit  work  in  you,  to  walk 
by  the  Spirit,  and  you  shall  be  redeemed  from  the 
life  of  complaining,  **  the  good  that  I  would  1  do 
not,"  into  a  life  of  faith,  in  which  it  is  God  that 
worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and  to  do. 


Lord  God,  teach  me  to  acknowledge  with  all  my 
heart  that  in  me,  that  is,  in  my  flesh,  dwelleth 
nothing  good.  Teach  me  also  to  cease  from  every 
thought,  as  if  I  could,  with  my  own  endeavors,  serve 
or  please  Thee.  Teach  me  to  understand  that  the 
Spirit  is  the  Comforter,  who  frees  me  from  all  anxiety 
and  fear  about  my  own  powerlessness,  in  order  that 
He  may  work  the  strength  of  Christ  in  me.     Amen. 

1  Rom.  vii.  i8 ;  Gal.  iii.  3,  iv.  9,  v.  4,  7. 
X20 


Flesh  and  Spirit. 


1.  In  order  to  understand  the  conflict  betwixt  flesh  and  Spirit, 
we  must  especially  seek  to  have  a  clear  insight  into  the  connec- 
tion between  Rom.  vii.  and  viii.  In  Rom.  vii.  6,  Paul  had 
spoken  of  the  twofold  way  of  serving  God,  the  one  in  the  old- 
ness  of  the  letter,  the  other  in  the  newness  of  the  Spirit  In 
Rom.  vii.  14-16  he  describes  the  first,  in  Rom.  viii.  1- 16  the 
second.  This  appears  clearly  when  we  observe  that  in  ch.  vii. 
he  mentions  the  Spirit  but  once,  the  law  more  than  twenty 
times  ;  in  Rom.  viii.  1-16,  the  Spirit  sixteen  times.  In  Rom.  vii. 
We  see  the  regenerate  soul,  just  as  he  is  in  himself  with  his  new 
nature,  desirous,  but  powerless,  to  fulfill  the  law,  mourning  as 
one  who  "is  captive  under  the  law  of  sin."  In  Rom.  viii.  we 
hear  him  say,  "  The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  made  me 
free  from  the  law  of  sin."  Rom.  vii.  describes  the  ever-abiding 
condition  of  the  Christian,  contemplated  as  renewed,  but  not 
experiencing  by  faith  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit :  Rom.  viii. 
his  life  in  the  freedom  which  the  Spirit  of  God  really  gives  from 
the  power  of  sin. 

2.  It  is  of  very  great  importance  to  understand  that  the  con- 
flict between  grace  and  works,  between  faith  and  one's  own 
power,  between  the  Holy  Spirit  and  confidence  in  ourselves  and 
the  flesh,  always  continues  to  go  on,  not  only  in  connection 
w^ith  conversion  and  the  reception  of  the  righteousness  of  God, 
but  even  further,  into  a  walk  in  this  righteousness.  On  this 
account  the  Christian  has  to  watch  very  carefully  against  the 
deep  inclination  of  his  heart  still  to  work  in  his  own  behalf, 
when  he  sees  in  himself  anything  wrong  or  when  he  would  fol- 
low after  holiness,  instead  of  always  and  only  trusting  in  Jesus 
Christ  and  so  serving  God  in  the  Spirit. 

3.  In  order  to  make  clear  the  opposition  between  the  two 
methods  of  serving  God,  let  me  adduce  consecutively  in  their 
entirety  the  passages  in  which  they  are  expressed  with  special 
distinctness.  Compare  them  with  care.  Pray  God  for  the 
Spirit  in  order  to  make  you  understand  them.  Take  deeply  to 
heart  the  lesson  as  to  how  you  are  to  serve  God  well,  and  how  not. 

The  circumcision  of  the  heart,  in  the  Spirit,  not  in  the  letter. 
(Rom.  ii.  29.) 

To  him  that  worketh  not,  but  believeth,  his  faith  is  reckoned 
for  righteousness.    (Rom.  iv.  5.) 

121 


The  New  Life. 


Ye  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace.      (Rom.  vi.  14.) 

We  have  been  discharged  from  the  law,  so  that  we  serve  in 
newness  of  the  Spirit  and  not  in  the  oldnessof  the  letter.  (Rom. 
viL  6.) 

We  know  that  the  law  is  spiritual,  but  I  am  carnal,  sold  under 
sin.     (Rom.  vii.  14.) 

The  ordinance  of  the  law  is  fulfilled  in  us,  who  walk  not  after 
the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.    (Rom.  viii.  4.) 

Ye  received  not  the  Spirit  of  bondage  again  to  fear,  but  ye  re- 
ceived the  Spirit  of  adoption.    (Rom.  viii.  15.) 

The  righteousness  which  is  of  the  law  is :  "  The  man  that 
doeth  these  things  shall  live  by  them.  But  the  righteousness 
which  is  of  faith  saith  thus,  Say  not  in  thine  heart,  Who  shall 
ascend?  Who  shall  desceud?  But  what  saith  it?  The  word 
is  nigh  thee,  in  thy  mouth  and  in  thy  heart."     (Rom.  x.  5-8.) 

If  it  is  by  grace  it  is  no  more  of  works.     (Rom.  xi.  6.) 

I  could  not  speak  unto  you  as  unto  spiritual,  but  as  unto  car- 
nal, as  unto  babes  in  Christ,     (i  Cor.  iii.  i.) 

I  live  ;  and  yet  no  longer  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me.  (GaL 
ii.  ao.) 

The  righteous  shall  live  by  faith  ;  yet  the  law  is  not  of  faith: 
but  the  man  that  doeth  these  things  shall  live  by  them.  (Gal. 
iii  II,  12.) 

If  the  inheritance  is  of  the  law,  it  is  no  more  of  promise.  (GaL 
iii.  18.) 

So  that  thou  art  no  longer  a  bondservant,  but  a  son.  (Gal. 
iv.  7.) 

Wherefore,  brethren,  we  are  not  children  of  a  handmaid,  but 
of  the  free-woman.     (Gal.  iv.  31.) 

Walk  by  the  Spirit  and  ye  shall  not  fulfill  the  lust  of  the  flesh. 
(Gal.  V.  16.) 

If  ye  are  led  by  the  Spirit  ye  are  not  under  the  law.  (Gat 
V.  18.) 

Who  worship  by  the  Spirit  of  God  and  glory  in  Christ  JesDS> 
and  hav«  no  confidence  in  the  flesh.    (Phil.  iii.  3.) 

Another  priest  who  hath  been  made  not  after  the  law  of  a  car- 
nal commandment,  but  after  the  power  of  an  endless  life.  (Heb. 
viii.  16.) 

4.  Beloved  Christian,  you  have  received  the  Holy  Spirit  from 
122 


Flesh  and  Spirit. 


the  Lord  Jesus  to  reveal  Him  and  His  life  in  you,  and  to  mortify 
the  working  of  the  body  of  sin.  Pray  much  to  be  filled  with  the 
Spirit.  Ivive  in  the  joyful  faith  that  the  Spirit  is  in  you,  as  your 
Comforter  and  Teacher,  and  that  through  Him  all  will  come 
right.  I^eam  by  heart  this  text,  and  let  it  live  in  your  heart 
and  on  your  lips:  "  We  are  the  circumcision,  who  worship  by 
the  Spirit  of  God  and  glory  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  have  no  confi> 
dence  in  the  flesh." 


XXVI. 
THE  LIFE  OF  FAITH. 

"  The  righteous  shall  live  by  his  faith." — Hab.  ii.  4. 

*'  We  have  been  discharged  from  the  law,  so  that  we  serve  in 
newness  of  the  Spirit,  and  not  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter.' ' — 
Rom.  vii.  6. 

"  I  live  ;  and  yet  no  longer  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me ;  and 
that  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  in  faith,  the  faith 
which  is  in  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave  Himself  up 
for  me." — Gal.  ii.  20. 

THE  word  from  Habakkuk  is  thrice  quoted  in  the 
New  Testament  as  the  Divine  representation  of 
salvation  in  Christ  by  faith  alone.^  But  that  word  is 
oftentimes  very  imperfectly  understood,  as  if  it  ran : 
Man  shall,  on  his  conversion,  be  justified  by  faith. 
The  word  includes  this,  but  signifies  much  more.  It 
says  that  the  righteous  shall  live  by  faith  :  the  whole 
life  of  the  righteous,  from  moment  to  moment,  shall 
be  by  faith. '' 

We  all  know  how  sharp  is  the  opposition  which 
God  in  His  word  presents  betwixt  the  grace  that 
comes  by  faith  and  the  law  that  works — demands. 
This  is  generally  admitted  with  reference  to 
justification.  But  that  distinction  holds  just  as 
much  of  the  whole  life  of  sanctification.    The  right- 

>Rom.  i.  17;  Gal.  iii.  11 ;  Heb  x.  38. 
>Rom.  V.  17,  21,  vi.  II,  viii.  2  ;  Gal.  ii.  20  ;  i  John  v.  11,  12. 
124 


The  I,ife  of  Faith. 

eous  shall  live  by  faith  alone,  that  is,  shall  have 
power  to  live  according  to  the  will  of  God.  As  at 
his  conversion  he  found  it  necessary  to  understand 
that  there  was  nothing  good  in  him,  and  that  he  must 
receive  grace  as  one  that  was  powerless  and  godless, 
so  must  he  as  a  believer  just  as  clearly  understand 
that  in  him  there  is  nothing  good,  and  that  he  must 
receive  his  power  for  good  every  moment  from 
above.  1  And  his  work  must  therefore  be  every 
morning  and  every  hour  to  look  up  and  believe  and 
receive  his  power  from  above,  out  of  his  Lord  in 
heaven.  I  am  not  to  do  what  I  can,  and  hope  in  the 
Lord  to  supply  strength.  No  :  as  one  who  has  been 
dead,  who  is  literally  able  for  nothing  in  himself,  and 
whose  life  is  in  his  Lord  above,  I  am  to  reckon  by 
faith  on  Him  who  will  work  in  me  mightily.'^ 

Happy  the  Christian  who  understands  that  his 
greatest  danger  every  day  is  again  to  fall  under  the 
law,  and  to  be  fain  to  serve  God  in  the  flesh  with  his 
own  strength.  Happy  when  he  discerns  that  he  is 
not  under  the  law  which  just  demands  and  yet  is 
powerless  through  the  flesh,  but  is  under  grace  where 
we  have  simply  to  receive  what  has  been  given. 
Happy  when  he  fully  appropriates  for  himself  the 
promise  of  the  Spirit  who  transfers  all  that  is  in 
Christ  to  him.  Yea,  happy  when  he  understands 
what  it  is  to  live  by  faith,  and  to  serve,  not  in  the 
oldness  of  the  letter,  but  in  the  newness  of  the  Spirit.* 

1  Rom.  vii.  i8,  vim.  2,  13  ;  Heb.  xi.  38. 
>Rom.  iv.  17  ;  2  Cor.  i.  9  ;  Col.  i.  29,  ii.  3. 
'Rom.  vii.  4,  6,  xii.  s,  6;  Gal.  v.  18;  PhiL  iii.3. 
125 


The  New  Life. 

Let  us  make  our  own  the  words  of  Paul ;  tlaey  pre- 
sent to  us  the  true  life  of  faith  :  "  I  have  been  cruci- 
fied with  Christ;  yet  I  live."  My  flesh,  not  only 
my  sin,  but  my  flesh,  all  that  is  of  myself,  my  own 
living  and  willing,  my  own  power  and  working,  have 
I  given  up  to  death.  I  live  no  longer — of  myself,  I 
cannot.  I  will  not  live,  or  do  anything.^  Christ 
lives  in  me  :  He  Himself,  by  His  Spirit,  is  my  power, 
and  teaches  and  strengthens  me  to  live  as  I  ought  to 
do.  And  the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I 
live  by  faith  in  Him  :  my  great  work  is  to  reckon 
upon  Him  to  work  in  Him,  as  well  the  willing  as  the 
accomplishment. 

Young  Christian,  let  this  life  of  faith  be  your  faith. 


O  my  Lord  Jesus,  Thou  art  my  life  :  yea,  my  life. 
Thou  livest  in  me,  and  art  willing  to  take  my  whole 
life  at  thine  own  charges.  And  my  whole  life  may 
daily  be  a  joyful  trust  and  experience  that  Thou  art 
working  all  in  me. 

Precious  Lord,  to  that  life  of  faith  will  I  surrender 
myself.  Yea,  to  Thee.  I  surrender  myself,  to  teach 
me  and  to  reveal  thyself  fully  in  me.     Amen. 

I.  Do  you  discern  the  error  of  the  expression — if  the  Lord  helpt 
me — the  Lord  must  help  me  ?  In  natural  things  we  speak  thus, 
for  we  have  a  certain  measure  of  power,  and  the  l,ord  will  in- 
crease it  But  the  New  Testament  never  uses  the  expression 
"help"  of  the  grace  of  God  in  the  soul.  We  have  absolutely  no 
XKJwer— God  is  not  to  help  us  because  we  are  weak  :  no.  He  is 
to  give  His  life  and  His  power  in  us  as  entirely  impotent.  He 
that  discerns  this  aright  will  learn  to  live  by  faith  alone. 

1  John  XV.  4,  5  ;  I  Cor.  xv.  lo  ;  2  Cor.  xii.  lo. 
126 


The  Life  of  Faith. 

2.  "  Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God  ; "  "  All  that 
is  not  of  faith  is  sin."  Such  words  of  the  Spirit  of  God  teach  us 
how  really  every  deed  and  disposition  of  our  life  is  to  be  full  of 
faith. 

3.  Hence  our  first  work  every  day  is  anew  to  exercise  faith  in 
Jesus  as  our  life ;  to  believe  that  He  dwells  in  us,  and  will  do  all 
for  us  and  in  us.  This  faith  must  be  the  mood  of  our  soul  the 
whole  day.  This  faith  cannot  be  maintained  except  in  the  fel- 
lowship and  nearnesss  of  Jesus  Himself. 

4.  This  faith  has  its  p>ower  in  the  mutual  surrender  of  Jesus 
and  the  believer  to  each  other.  Jesus  first  gives  Himself  wholly 
for  us.  The  believer  gives  himself  wholly  in  order  to  be  taken 
into  possession  and  gfuided  by  Jesus.  Then  the  soul  cannot 
even  doubt  if  He  will  do  all  for  it. 

127 


XXVII. 
THE  MIGHT  OF  SATAN. 

••  Simon,  Simon,  behold,  Satan  asked  to  have  you,  that  he 
might  sift  you  as  wheat :  but  I  made  supplication  for  thee,  that 
thy  faith  fail  not."— I^uke  xxii.  31,  32. 

THERE  is  nothing  that  makes  an  enemy  so  dan- 
gerous as  the  fact  that  he  remains  hidden  or 
forgotten.  Of  the  three  great  enemies  of  the  Chris- 
tian, the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  the  last  is 
the  most  dangerous,  not  only  because  it  is  he  that, 
strictly  speaking,  lends  to  the  others  what  power 
they  have,  but  also  because  he  is  not  seen,  and, 
therefore,  little  known  or  feared.  The  devil  has  the 
power  of  darkness  :  he  darkens  the  eyes,  so  that  men 
do  not  know  him.  He  surrounds  himself  with  dark- 
ness, so  that  he  is  not  observed.  Yea,  he  has  even 
the  power  to  appear  as  an  angel  of  light '  It  is  by 
the  faith  that  recognizes  things  unseen  that  the 
Christian  is  to  endeavor  to  know  Satan,  even  as  the 
Scripture  has  revealed  him. 

When  the  Lord  Jesus  was  living  upon  earth,  His 
great  work  was  to  overcome  Satan.  When  at  His 
baptism  He  was  filled  with  the  Spirit,  this  fulness  of 
the  Spirit  brought  him   into  contact  with  Satan  as 

1  Matt.  iv.  6  ;  3  Cor.  iv.  4,  xi.  14. 
128 


The  Might  of  Satan. 

head  of  the  world  of  evil  spirits,  to  combat  him  and 
to  overcome  him. ^  After  that  time  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord  were  always  open  to  the  power  and  working  of 
Satan.  In  all  sin  and  misery. He  saw  the  revelation 
of  the  mighty  kingdom  of  the  very  same  superior, 
the  evil  one.  Not  only  in  the  demoniacs,  but  also  in 
the  sick,  He  saw  the  enemy  of  God  and  man.^  In 
the  advice  of  Peter  to  avoid  the  cross,  and  in  his  de- 
nial of  his  Lord,  where  we  should  think  of  the  reve- 
lation of  the  natural  character  of  Peter,  Jesus  saw  the 
work  of  Satan.*  In  His  own  sufifering,  where  we 
rather  speak  of  the  sin  of  man  and  the  permission  of 
God,  Jesus  perceives  the  power  of  darkness.  His 
whole  work  in  living  and  in  dying  was  to  destroy  the 
works  of  Satan,  as  He  shall  also  at  His  second  com- 
ing utterly  bruise  Satan  himself.* 

His  word  to  Peter,  compared  with  the  personal  ex- 
perience of  the  Lord,  gives  us  a  fearful  insight  into 
the  work  of  the  enemy.  **  Satan  hath  eagerly  desired 
you,"  says  Jesus.  "As  a  roaring  lion,  he  walketh 
about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour,"  says  Peter 
himself  later  on.^  He  has  no  unlimited  power,  but 
he  is  always  eager  to  make  use  of  every  weak  or  un- 
guarded moment.  "  That  he  might  sift  you  as 
wheat :  "  what  a  picture  !  This  world,  yea,  even  the 
Church  of  Christ,    is  the  threshing-floor  of  Satan. 

^Matt.  iv.  I,  10. 

•^Matt.  xii.  28  ;  Mark  iv.  15  ;  Luke  xiii.  16  ;  Acts  x.  38. 
8  Matt.  xvi.  23  ;  I,uke  xxii.  31,  32. 

♦lyuke  X.  t8,  xxii.  3,  53  ;    John  xii.  31,  xiv.  30  ;    xvi.  11 ;    Rom. 
xvi.  20 ;  Col.  ii.  15 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  8,  9 ;  i  John  iii.  8. 
6 1  Cor.  vii.  5;  2  Cor.  ii.  10;  i  Pet.  v.  8. 

9  129 


The  New  Life. 

The  corn  belongs  to  God ;  the  chaff  is  his  own.  He 
sifts  and  sifts  continually,  and  all  that  falls  through 
"with  the  chaff  he  endeavors  to  take  for  himself. 
And  many  a  Christian  is  there  who  does  fall  through 
in  a  terrible  fashion,  and  who,  were  it  not  for  the 
intercession  of  his  Lord,  would  perish  for  ever.^ 

Satan  has  more  than  one  sieve.  The  first  is  gen- 
erally worldly-mindedness — the  love  of  the  world. 
Many  a  one  is  pious  in  his  time  of  poverty,  but  when 
he  becomes  rich,  he  again  eagerly  strives  to  win  the 
world.  Or  in  the  time  of  conversion  and  awakening 
he  appears  very  zealous,  but  through  the  care  of  the 
world  he  is  led  astray.^ 

A  second  sieve  is  self-love  and  self-seeking.  When- 
ever any  one  does  not  give  himself  undividedly  to 
serve  his  Lord  and  his  neighbor,  and  to  love  his 
neighbor  in  the  Lord,  it  soon  appears  that  the  prin- 
cipal token  of  a  disciple  is  lacking  in  him.  It  will  be 
manifest  that  many  a  one,  with  a  fair  profession  of 
being  devoted  to  the  service  of  God,  fails  utterly  on 
this  point,  and  must  be  reckoned  with  the  chaff. 
Lovelessness  is  the  sure  token  of  the  power  of  Satan.^ 

Yet  another  sieve,  a  very  dangerous  one,  is  self- 
confidence.  Under  the  name  of  following  the  Spirit^ 
one  may  listen  to  the  thoughts  of  his  own  heart.  He 
is  zealous  for  the  Lord,  but  with  a  carnal  zeal,  in 
which  the  gentleness  of  the  lamb  of  God  is  not  seen. 
Without  being  observed,  the  movements  of  the  flesh 

'  I  Cor.  V.  5 ;  i  Tim.  i.  20. 

8  Matt.  iv.  9,  xiii.  22;  i  Tim.  vi.  9,  10;  8  Tim.  iv.  10. 
'John  viii.  44  ;  i  John  ii.  10,  15,  iv.  20. 
130 


The  Might  of  Satan. 

mingle  with  the  workings  of  the  Spirit,  and  while  he 
boasts  that  he  is  overcoming  Satan,  he  is  being 
secretly  ensnared  by  him. ^ 

O  it  is  a  serious  life  here  upon  the  earth,  where 
God  gives  permission  for  Satan  to  set  his  threshing 
floor  even  in  the  Church.  Happy  are  they  who  with 
deep  humility,  with  fear  and  trembling,  distrust 
themselves.  Our  only  security  is  in  the  intercession 
and  guidance  of  Him  who  overcame  Satan. '^  Far  be 
from  us  the  idea  that  we  know  all  the  depths  of 
Satan,  and  are  a  match  for  all  his  cunning  stratagems. 
It  is  in  the  region  of  the  spirit,  in  the  invisible,  that 
he  works  and  has  power,  as  well  as  in  the  visible. 
Let  us  fear  lest,  while  we  have  known  and  overcome 
him  in  the  visible,  he  should  prevail  over  us  in  the 
spiritual.  May  our  only  security  be  the  conviction 
of  our  frailty  and  weakness,  our  confidence  in  Him 
who  certainly  keeps  the  lowly  in  heart. 


Lord  Jesus,  open  our  eyes  to  know  our  enemy  and 
his  wiles.  Cause  us  to  see  him  and  his  realm,  that 
we  may  dread  all  that  is  of  him.  And  open  our  eyes 
to  see  how  Thou  hast  overcome  him,  and  how  in 
Thee  we  are  invincible.  O  teach  us  what  it  is  to  be 
in  Thee^  to  mortify  all  that  is  of  the  mere  Ego  and 
the  will  of  the  flesh,  and  to  be  strong  in  weakness 
and  lowliness.  And  teach  us  to  bring  into  prayer  the 
conflict  of  faith  against  every  stronghold  of  Satan, 

^  Gal.  iii.  3,  v.  13. 
2  Eph.  vi.  10,  12,  16. 


The  New  lyife. 


because  we  know  that  Thou  wilt  bruise  him  under 
our  feet.     Amen. 

1.  What  comfort  does  the  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  Satan 
give  us? 

We  know  then  that  sin  is  derived  from  a  foreign  power  which 
has  thrust  itself  into  our  nature,  and  does  not  naturally  belong 
to  us.  We  know  besides  that  he  has  been  entirely  vanquished 
by  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  thus  has  no  power  over  us  so  long  as  we 
abide  trustfully  in  Christ. 

2.  The  whole  of  this  world,  with  all  that  is  in  it,  is  under  the 
domination  of  Satan  :  therefore  there  is  nothing,  even  what  ap- 
pears good  and  fair,  that  may  not  be  dangerous  for  us.  In  all 
things,  even  in  what  is  lawful  and  right,  we  must  be  led  and 
sanctified  by  the  Spirit,  if  we  would  continue  liberated  from  the 
power  of  Satan. 

3.  Satan  is  an  evil  spirit :  only  by  the  good  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of 
God,  can  we  offer  resistance  to  him.  He  works  in  the  invisible  : 
in  order  to  combat  him,  we  have,  by  prayer,  to  enter  into  the 
invisible.  He  is  a  mighty  prince  :  only  in  the  name  of  One  who 
is  mightier  and  in  fellowship  with  Him  can  we  overcome. 

4.  What  a  glorious  work  is  labor  for  souls,  for  the  lost,  for 
drunkards,  for  heathen;  a  conflict  to  rescue  them  from  the 
might  of  Satan.    (Acts  xx\n.  18.) 

5.  In  the  Revelation  the  victory  over  Satan  is  ascribed  to  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb.  (Rev.  xii.  11.)  Christians  have  also  testi- 
fied that  there  is  no  power  in  temptation,  because  Satan  readily 
retreats  when  one  appeals  to  the  blood,  by  which  one  knows 
that  sin  has  been  entirely  expiated,  and  we  are  thus  also  wholly 
freed  from  his  power. 

132 


XXVIII. 
THE  CONFI.ICT  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN. 

"  strive  to  enter  in  by  the  narrow  door." — I,uk:e  xiii.  24. 
"  Fight  the  good  fight  of  the  faith."— i  Tim.  vi.  12. 
'*  I  have  fought  the  good  fight,  I  have  finished  the  course,  I 
have  kept  the  faith."— 2  Tim.  iv.  7. 

THBSB  texts  speak  of  a  twofold  conflict.  The 
first  is  addressed  to  the  unconverted:  **  Strive 
to  enter  in  by  the  narrow  door."  Entrance  by  a  door 
is  the  work  of  a  moment :  the  sinner  is  not  to  strive 
to  enter  during  his  whole  lifetime  ;  he  is  to  strive  and 
do  it  immediately.  He  is  not  to  sufifer  anything  to 
hold  him  back  ;  he  must  enter  in.^ 

Then  comes  the  second,  the  life-long  conflict :  by 
the  narrow  door  I  come  upon  the  new  way.  On  the 
new  way  there  are  still  always  enemies.  Of  this  life- 
long conflict  Paul  says:  "I  have  fought  the  good 
fight,  I  have  finished  the  course,  I  have  kept  the 
faith."  With  respect  to  the  continuous  conflict,  he 
gives  the  charge  :  "Fight  the  good  fight  of  faith." 

There  is  much  misunderstanding  about  this  two- 
fold conflict.  Many  strive  all  their  life  against  the 
Lord  and  His  summons,  and,  because  they  are  not  at 
rest,  but  feel  an  inner  conflict,  they  think  that  this  is 
the  conflict  of  a  Christian.     Assuredly  not :  this  is 

1  Gen.  xix.  22 ;  John  x.  9 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  2  ;  Heb.  iv.  6.  7. 
133 


The  New  Life. 

the  struggle  against  God  of  one  who  is  not  willing  to 
abandon  everything  and  surrender  himself  to  the 
Lord.^  This  is  not  the  conflict  that  the  Lord  would 
have.  What  He  says  is  that  the  conflict  is  concerned 
with  entering  in  :  but  not  a  conflict  for  long  years.  No  : 
He  desires  that  you  should  break  through  the  enemies 
that  would  hold  you  back,  and  immediately  enter  in. 

Then  follows  the  second  conflict,  which  endures 
for  life.  Paul  twice  calls  this  the  fight  of  faith.  The 
chief  characteristic  of  it  is  faith.  He  who  under- 
stands well  that  the  principal  element  in  the  battle  is 
to  believe,  and  acts  accordingly,  does  certainly  carry 
off  the  palm  :  just  as  in  another  passage  Paul  says  to 
the  Christian  combatant :  * '  Withal  taking  up  the 
shield  of  faith,  wherewith  ye  shall  be  able  to  quench 
all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  evil  one." ' 

And  what  then  does  it  mean,  this  "  fight  of  faith  ?  " 
That,  while  I  strive,  I  am  to  believe  that  the  Lord 
will  help  me  ?  No  :  it  is  not  so,  although  it  often  is 
so  understood. 

In  a  conflict  it  is  of  supreme  importance  that  I 
should  be  in  a  stronghold  or  fortress  which  cannot  be 
taken .  With  such  a  stronghold  a  weak  garrison  can 
offer  resistance  to  a  powerful  enemy.  Our  conflict  as 
Christians  is  now  no  longer  concerned  with  going 
into  the  fortress.  No  :  we  have  gone  in,  and  are  now 
in  ;  and  so  long  as  we  remain  in  it,  we  are  invincible. 
The  stronghold,  this  stable  fort,  is  Christ.'    By  faith 

1  Acts  V.  39  ;  i  Cor.  x.  22. 

2  Eph.  vi.  16 ;  I  John  iii.  4,  5. 

3Ps.  xviii.  3,  xlvi.  2,  Ixii.  2,  3,  6,  7,  8,  cxliv.  a  ;  Eph.  vL  10. 


The  Conflict  of  the  Christian. 

■we  are  in  Him  :  by  faith  we  know  that  the  enemy 
can  make  no  progress  against  our  fortress.  The  wiles 
of  Satan  all  go  forth  on  the  line  of  enticing  us  out  of 
cur  fortress,  of  engaging  us  in  conflict  with  him  on 
the  open  plain.  There  he  always  overcomes.  But  if 
we  only  strive  in  faith,  abiding  in  Christ  by  faith, 
then  we  overcome,  because  Satan  then  has  to  deal 
with  Him,  and  because  He  then  fights  and  over- 
comes. ^  **  This  is  the  victory  that  hath  overcome  the 
world,  even  our  faith."  Our  first  and  greatest  work 
is  thus  to  believe.  As  Paul  said  before  he  mentions 
the  warlike  equipment  of  the  Christian  :  ' '  From 
henceforth  be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  strength 
of  His  might." 

The  reason  why  the  victory  is  only  by  faith,  and 
why  the  fight  of  faith  is  the  good  fight,  is  this  :  it  is 
the  Lord  Jesus  who  purchased  the  victory,  and  who 
therefore  alone  gives  power  and  dominion  over  the 
enemy.  If  we  are,  and  abide,  in  Him,  and  surrender 
ourselves  to  live  in  Him,  and  by  faith  appropriate 
what  He  is,  then  the  victory  is  in  itself  our  own. 
We  then  understand  :  '  *  The  battle  is  not  yours,  but 
God's.  The  Lord  your  God  shall  fight  for  you,  and 
ye  shall  be  still."  Just  as  we  in  opposition  to  God 
can  achieve  nothing  good  of  ourselves,  but  in  Christ 
please  Him,  so  also  is  it  in  opposition  to  Satan  :  in 
ourselves  we  achieve  nothing,  but  in  Christ  we  are 
more  than  conquerors.     By  faith  we  stand  in  Him 

1  Ex.  xiv.  14  ;  Josh.  v.  14  ;  2  Chron.  xxiii.  15  ;  John  xvi.  33 ; 
Rom.  viii.  37  ;  2  Cor,  ii.  14. 


The  New  Life. 

righteous  before  God,  and  just  so  in  Him  are  we 
strong  against  our  enemies. ^ 

In  this  light  we  can  read  and  take  home  to  our- 
selves all  the  noble  passages  in  the  Old  Testament, 
especially  in  the  Psalms,  where  the  glorious  conflict 
of  God  in  behalf  of  His  people  is  spoken  of.  Fear, 
or  spiritlessness,  or  uncertainty,  makes  weak,  and 
cannot  overcome :  faith  in  the  living  God  is  equal  to 
everything.^  In  Christ  this  truth  is  now  still  more 
real.  God  has  come  near.  His  power  works  in  us 
who  believe ;  it  is  really  He  that  fights  for  us. 


0  Lord  Jesus,  who  art  the  Prince  of  the  army  of 
the  Lord,  the  Hero,  the  Victor,  teach  me  to  be  strong 
in  Thee  my  stronghold,  and  in  the  power  of  Thy 
might.  Teach  me  to  understand  what  the  good  fight 
of  faith  is,  and  how  the  one  thing  that  I  have  need 
of  is,  always  to  look  to  Thee,  to  Thee,  the  supreme 
Guide  of  faith.  And,  consequently,  in  me,  too,  let 
this  be  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world, 
namely,  my  faith.     Amen. 

I.  The  conflict  of  faith  is  no  civil  war,  in  which  one  half  of 
,  the  kingdom  is  divided  against  the  other.  This  would  be  insur- 
rection. This  is  the  one  conflict  that  many  Christians  know  -• 
the  unrest  of  the  conscience,  and  the  powerless  wrestling  of  a 
will  which  consents  to  that  which  is  good,  but  does  not  perform 
it.  The  Christian  has  not  to  overcome  himself  This  his  Lord 
does  when  he  surrenders  himself.    Then  he  is  free  and  strong 

1  Ps.  xliv.  4,  9  ;  Isa.  xlv.  24. 

«  Deut.  XX.  3,  8  ;  Josh.  vi.  20  ;  Judges  vii.  3  ;  Ps.  xviii.  32-40 ; 
Heb.  xi.  23. 

136 


The  Conflict  of  the  Christian. 

to  combat  and  overcome  the  enemies  of  his  Lord  and  of  the 
kingdom.  No  sooner,  however,  we  are  willing  that  God  should 
have  his  way  with  us  than  we  are  found  striving  against  God. 
This  also  is  truly  conflict,  but  it  is  not  the  good  fight  of  faith. 

2.  In  Galatians  v.  reference  is  made  to  the  inner  conflict :  for 
the  Galatians  had  not  yet  entirely  surrendered  themselves  to 
the  Spirit,  to  walk  after  the  Spirit.  "The  connection,"  says 
Lange,  *'  shows  that  this  conflict  betwixt  the  flesh  and  the  Spirit 
of  God  is  not  endless,  but  that  there  is  expected  of  the  Christian 
a  complete  surrender  of  himself,  in  order  to  be  led  only  by  the 
one  principle— the  Spirit ;  and  then,  further,  a  refusal  to  obey 
the  flesh."  The  believer  must  not  strive  against  the  flesh,  to 
overcome  it :  this  he  cannot  do.  What  he  is  to  do  is  to  choose 
to  whom  he  will  subject  himself:  by  the  surrender  of  faith  to 
Christ,  to  strive  in  Him  through  the  Spirit,  He  has  a  divine 
power  for  overcoming. 

3.  Hence,  as  we  have  seen  in  connection  with  the  beginning 
of  the  new  life,  our  one  work  every  day  and  the  whole  day  is  to 
believe.  Out  of  faith  come  all  blessings  and  power,  also  the 
victory  for  overcoming. 


XXIX. 

BE  A  BLESSING. 

"  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and' 
from  thy  father's  house,  unto  the  land  that  I  will  show  thee ; 
and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee  ; 
and  be  thou  a  blessing." — Gen.  xii.  i,  2. 

IN  these  first  words  that  God  spake  to  Abraham,  we 
have  the  short  summary  of  all  that  God  has  to 
say  to  him  and  to  us  as  His  children.  We  see  what 
the  goal  is  to  which  God  calls  us,  what  the  power 
that  carries  us  to  that  goal,  and  what  the  place  where 
the  power  is  found. 

Be  a  blessing  :  that  is  the  goal  for  which  God  sepa- 
rates Abraham  and  every  believing  child  of  His. 

God  would  have  him  and  us  made  to  understand 
that,  when  He  blesses  us,  this  is  certainly  not  simply 
to  make  us  happy,  but  that  we  should  still  further 
communicate  His  blessing.^  God  Himself  is  love, 
and  therefore  He  blesses.  Love  seeketh  not  itself : 
when  the  love  of  God  comes  to  us,  it  will  seek  others 
through  us.'  The  young  Christian  must  from  the 
beginning  understand  that  he  has  received  grace 
with  the  definite  aim  of  becoming  a  blessing  to 
others.     Pray,  keep  not  for  yourself  what  the  Lord 

1  Matt.  V.  34,  35,  X.  8,  xviii.  33. 

2lsa.  Iviii.  10,  11 ;  i  Cor.  xiii.  5  ;  i  John  iv.  11. 

138 


Be  a  Blessing. 


gives  to  you  for  others.  Offer  yourself  expressly 
and  completely  to  the  Lord,  to  be  used  by  Him  for 
others :  that  is  the  way  to  be  blessed  overflowingly 
yourself.  ^ 

The  power  for  this  work  will  be  given.  "  Be  a 
blessing  :"  "I  will  bless  thee,"  says  Ibe  Lord.  You 
are  to  be  personally  blessed  yourself,  personally  sanc- 
tified and  filled  with  the  Spirit,  and  peace,  and  power 
of  the  Lord  :  then  you  have  power  to  bless. ^  In 
Christ  God  has  * '  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  things  :'' 
let  Jesus  fill  you  with  these  blessings,  and  you  snail 
certainly  be  a  blessing  :  you  need  not  doubt  or  fear. 
The  blessing  of  God  includes  in  it  the  power  of  life 
for  multiplication,  for  expansion,  for  communication. 
See  in  the  Scriptures  how  blessing  and  multiplica- 
tion go  together.'  Blessing  always  includes  the 
power  to  bless  others.  Only  give  the  word  of  the 
the  Almighty  God,  *'  I  will  bless  Thee,"  time  to  sink 
into  your  spirit.  Wait  upon  God,  that  He  Himself 
may  say  to  you,  "I  will  bless  thee."  Let  your  faith 
cleave  fast  to  this.  God  will  make  it  truth  to  you, 
above  all  asking  and  thinking.* 

But  for  this  end  you  must  also  betake  yourself  to 
the  place  of  blessing :  the  land  of  promise,  the  sim- 
ple life  of  faith  in  the  promises.  * '  Get  thee  out  thy 
land  and  thy  father's  house,"  says  the  Lord.  De- 
parture, separation  from  the  life  of  nature  and  the 

1  Ps.  cxii.  5,  9  ;  Prov.  xi.  24,  25  ;   Matt.  xxv.  40  ;  i  Cor.  xv.  58 ;  2 
Cor.  ix.  6  ;  Heb.  vi.  10. 
*i,uke  xxiv.  49;  John  vii.  38,  xiv.  12. 
•Gen.  i.  22,  28,  ix.  i,  xxii.  17,  xxvL  24. 
*a  Cor.  ix.  8,  II ;  Uph.  i.  3  ;  Heb.  vi.  14. 


The  New  Ufe. 

flesh,  in  -which  we  were  born  of  our  father  Adam,  is 
what  God  would  have.  The  ofiFering  up  of  what  is 
most  precious  to  man  is  the  way  to  the  blessing  of 
God.i  "Get  thee  to  a  land  that  I  will  show  thee," 
says  the  Lord,  out  of  the  old  life  to  a  new  life,  where 
I  alone  am  your  guide  ;  that  is,  a  life  where  God  can 
have  me  wholly  for  Himself  alone,  where  I  walk  only 
on  the  promises  of  God — a  life  of  faith. 

Christian,  God  will,  in  a  Divine  fashion,  fulfill  to 
you  His  promise,  "I  will  bless  thee."  O  go,  pray, 
out  of  your  land  and  your  father*  s  house,  out  of  the 
life  of  nature  and  the  flesh,  out  of  intercourse  with 
the  flesh  and  this  world,  to  the  New  lyife,  the  life  of 
the  Spirit,  the  life  in  fellowship  with  God  to  which 
He  will  lead  you.  There  you  become  receptive  of 
His  blessing  ;  there  your  heart  becomes  open  to  full 
faith  in  His  word,  "  I  will  bless  thee  ;"  there  He  can 
fulfill  that  word  to  you,  and  make  you  full  of  His 
blessing  and  power  to  be  a  blessing  to  others.  Live 
with  God,  separated  from  the  world  :  then  shall  you 
hear  the  voice  of  God  speak  with  power :  "I  will 
bless  thee  ;  "   "Be  thou  a  blessing." 

O  my  Father,  show  me  the  way  to  that  promised 
land  where  Thou  bringest  Thy  people  to  have  them 
wholly  for  Thyself.  I  will  abandon  everything  to 
follow  Thee,  to  hold  converse  with  Thee  alone,  in 
order  that  Thou  mayest  fill  me  with  Thy  blessing. 
Lord,  let  Thy  word,  *'I  will  bless  Thee,"  live  in  my 
heart  as  a  word  of  God :  then  shall  I  give  myself 
wholly  to  live  for  others  and  to  be  a  blessing.  Amen. 

il,uke  xviii.  29,  30;  John  xii.  24,  25;  2  Cor.  vi.  17,  18. 
140 


Be  a  Blessing. 


1.  God  is  the  great,  the  only  Fountain  of  blessing  :  as  much  of 
God  as  I  have  in  me,  so  much  blessing  can  I  bring.  I  can  work 
much  for  others  without  blessing.  Actually  to  be  a  blessing,  I 
must  begin  with  that  word,  "  I  will  bless  thee  : "  then  theother, 
"  Be  a  blessing ' '  becomes  easy. 

2.  In  order  to  become  a  blessing,  begin  on  a  small  scale  :  yield 
yourself  up  for  others.  I^ive  to  make  others  happy.  Believe 
that  the  love  of  God  dwells  in  you  by  the  Spirit,  and  give  your- 
self wholly  to  be  a  blessing  and  a  joy  to  those  who  are  round 
about  you.  Pray  God  to  shed  abroad  His  love  in  you  still  fur- 
ther by  the  Spirit.  And  believe  very  firmly  that  God  can  make 
you  a  greater  blessing  than  you  can  think,  if  you  surrender 
yourself  to  Him  for  this  end. 

3.  But  this  surrender  must  have  time  in  solitary  prayer,  that 
God  may  obtain  possession  of  your  spirit.  This  is  for  you  the 
departure  from  your  father's  house  :  separate  yourself  from 
men  that  God  may  speak  with  you. 

4.  What  think  you?  Was  Abraham  ever  filled  with  regret 
that  he  placed  himself  so  entirely  under  the  leading  of  God  ? 
Then  do  you  likewise. 

5.  Do  you  now  know  the  two  words  which  are  the  source  of 
all  promises  and  all  commands  to  the  children  of  believing 
Abraham?  The  promise  is:  "I  well  bless  thee."  The  com- 
mand is:  "Be  a  blessing."  Pray,  take  them  both  firmly  for 
yourself. 

6.  And  do  you  now  understand  where  these  two  words  to 
Abraham  are  fulfilled?  In  separation  from  his  father's  house- 
in  the  walk  in  fellowship  with  God. 

141 


XXX. 

PERSONAI,  WORK. 

*•  Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  Thy  salvation  :  and  uphold  me 
with  a  free  spirit.  Then  will  I  teach  transgressors  Thy  ways ; 
and  sinners  shall  be  converted  unto  Thee." — Ps.  li.  12,  13. 

"  I  believe,  for  I  vrill  speak." — Ps.  cxvi.  10. 

"  But  ye  shall  receive  power,  when  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come 
upon  you." — Acts  i.  8. 

EVERY  redeemed  man  is  called  to  be  a  witness  for 
his  Lord.  Not  only  by  a  godly  walk,  but  by 
personal  efifort  must  I  serve  and  make  known  my 
Lord.  My  tongue,  my  speech,  is  one  of  the  principal 
means  of  intercourse  with  others  and  influence  upon 
them.  It  is  but  a  half  dedication,  when  I  do  not  also 
bring  the  offering  of  the  lips,  to  speak  for  the  Lord.^ 
Of  this  work  there  is  inconceivably  great  need. 
There  are  thousands  of  Christians  who  continually 
enjoy  the  preaching  of  the  word,  and  yet  do  not 
understand  the  way  of  salvation.  The  Lord  Jesus 
not  only  preached  to  the  multitudes,  but  also  spoke 
to  individuals  according  to  their  needs. 2  Scripture 
is  full  of  examples  of  those  who  told  to  others  what 
the  Lord  had  done  for  them,  and  who  thus  became  a 

1  Ps.  xl.  10,  II,  Ixvi.  16,  Ixxi.  8, 15,  24  ;  Heb.  xiii.  15. 
'  lyuke  vii.  40  ;  John  iii.  3,  iv.  7. 
142 


Personal  Work. 

blessing  to  them.*  The  teacher  alone  cannot  do  this 
^ork  of  personal  speaking :  every  ransomed  soul 
must  co-operate  with  him.  He  is  in  the  world  as  a 
-witness  for  his  Lord.  His  own  life  cannot  come  to 
its  full  healthy  increase,  if  he  does  not  confess  his 
Ivord  and  work  for  Him. 

That  witness  for  the  Lord  must  be  a  personal  wit- 
ness. We  must  have  the  courage  to  say,  "  He  has 
redeemed  me;  He  will  also  redeem  you :  will  you 
not  accept  this  redemption?  Come,  let  me  show 
you  the  way."  ^  There  are  hundreds  who  would  be 
glad  if  the  personal  question  were  put  to  them, 
"  Are  you  redeemed  ?  What  keeps  you  back  ?  Can 
I  not  help  you  to  go  to  the  Lord  ?  "  Parents  ought 
to  speak  personally  with  their  children,  and  put  the 
■question,  "  My  child  have  you  already  received  the 
Lord  Jesus?"  Teachers  in  Sabbath-schools  and  in 
day-schools,  when  they  teach  the  word  of  God,  ought 
to  bring  forward  the  personal  question,  whether  the 
children  have  really  received  salvation,  and  ought  to 
seek  the  opportunity  of  also  putting  the  question  to 
them  separately.  Friends  must  speak  with  their 
friends.  Yesj  before  all  else  should  this  work  be 
done. 

Such  work  must  be  the  work  of  love.  Let  souls 
feel  that  you  love  them  tenderly.  Let  the  humility 
and  gentleness  of  love,  as  this  was  to  be  seen  in 
Jesus,  be  seen  also  in  you.  At  every  turn  surrender 
yourself  to  Jesus  to  be  filled  with  His  love  :  not  by 

1  Ex.  xviii.  8,  II ;  2  Chron.  v.  3. 

2  John  i.  42,  46,  iv.  28,  39  ;  Acts  xi.  19. 


The  New  Life. 

feeling,  but  by  faith  in  this  love,  can  you  do  your 
work.  "Beloved,  keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of 
God.  And  on  some  have  mercy  who  are  in  doubt ; 
and  some  save,  snatching  them  out  of  the  fire ;  and 
on  some  have  mercy  v^^ith  fear."  The  flesh  often 
thinks  that  strength  and  force  do  more  than  love 
and  patience.  But  that  is  not  so :  love  achieves 
everything :  it  has  overcome  on  the  cross.* 

Such  work  must  be  the  work  of  faith,  of  faith 
working  by  love :  faith  that  the  Lord  desires  to  use 
you  and  will  use  you.  Be  not  afraid  on  account  of 
your  weakness  :  learn  in  the  Scriptures  what  glorious 
promises  God  from  time  to  time  gave  to  those  who 
had  to  speak  for  Him.'^  Surrender  yourself  con- 
tinually to  God  to  be  used  for  the  rescue  of  souls,  and 
take  your  stand  on  the  fact  that  He  who  has  redeemed 
you  for  this  end,  will  for  this  end  bless  you.  Although 
your  work  is  in  weakness  and  fear,  although  no 
blessing  appears  to  come,  be  of  good  courage:  at 
His  time,  we  shall  reap.^  Be  filled  with  faith  in  the 
power  of  God,  in  His  blessing  upon  you,  and  in  the 
certainty  of  the  hearing  of  prayer.  * '  If  any  man  see 
his  brother  sinning  a  sin  not  unto  death,  he  shall 
ask,  and  God  will  give  him  life."  Whether  it  be  the 
most  miserable  and  neglected,  or  whether  it  be  the 
decent  but  indifferent  who  does  not  know  his  sin,  take 
courage,  the  Lord  is  mighty  to  bless :  He  hears  prayer. 

iHeb.  iii.  13,  x.  24;  Jude  ax,  23. 

8  Ex.  iv.  II,  12  ;  Josh.  i.  9;  Isa.  1.  4,  11 ;  Jer.  i.  6,  7  ;  Matt,  x 
19,  20. 

82  Chron.  xv.  7  ;  Ps.  cxxvi.  6,  7 ;  Hag.  ii.  5  ;  Gal.  viii.  9 ;  1  John 
V.  16. 

144 


Personal  Work. 

But  above  all — for  this  is  the  principal  point — 
carry  out  this  work  in  fellowship  with  Jesus.  Live 
closely  with  Him — live  entirely  for  Him — let  Jesus 
be  in  all  your  own  life  and  He  will  speak  and  work 
in  you.i  Be  full  of  the  blessing  of  the  lyord,  full  of 
His  Spirit  and  His  love,  and  it  cannot  be  otherwise 
than  that  you  should  be  a  blessing.  You  shall  be 
able  to  tell  what  He  is  continually  for  you.  You 
shall  have  the  love  and  the  courage,  with  all  humil- 
ity, to  put  to  souls  the  question,  "Is  it  well  with 
you?  Have  you  indeed  the  Lord  Jesus  as  your 
Saviour?  "  And  the  Lord  will  make  you  experience 
the  rich  blessing  which  is  promised  to  those  who 
live  to  bless  others. 

Young  Christian,  be  a  witness  for  Jesus.  Live  as 
one  who  is  wholly  given  away  to  Him  to  watch  and 
to  work  for  His  honor. 


Blessed  Lord,  who  hast  redeemed  me  to  serve  the 
Father  in  the  proclamation  of  His  love,  I  will  with  a 
free  spirit  ofifer  myself  to  Thee  for  this  end.  Fill  my 
heart  for  this  end  with  love  to  Him,  to  Thee,  and  to 
souls.  Cause  me  to  see  what  an  honor  it  is  to  do  the 
work  of  redeeming  love,  even  as  Thou  didst  do  it. 
Strengthen  my  confidence  that  Thou  art  working 
with  Thy  power  in  my  weakness.  And  let  my  joy  be 
to  help  souls  to  Thee.     Amen. 

I.  The  question  is  often  asked,  "  "What  can  I  do  to  work  for 
the  I,ord?" 

1  Acts.  iv.  i8 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  5,  xiii.  3. 
10  145 


The  New  Life. 


Can  you  not  take  a  class  in  the  Sabbath  school  ?  Perhaps  you 
live  in  the  country  where  there  are  children  that  have  no  hour 
of  the  Sabbath  devoted  to  them.  Perhaps  there  are  heathen 
children,  or  even  grown-up  people  of  the  farms,  who  do  not  go 
to  Church.  See  whether  you  cannot  gather  them  together  in 
the  name  of  Jesus.  Make  it  a  matter  of  prayer  and  faith. 
Although  you  do  this  work  with  trembling,  you  may  be  sure 
that  to  begin  to  work  will  make  you  strong. 

Or  can  you  do  nothing  for  the  circulation  of  books  and  tracts? 
When  you  have  a  book  that  has  been  useful  to  you,  order  six  or 
twelve  copies  of  it.  Speak  of  it,  and  ofifer  it  for  sale  :  you  can 
do  great  service  by  this  means.  So  also  with  tracts  :  if  you  are 
too  poor  to  give  them  for  nothing,  have  them  to  sell :  you  may 
procure  blessing  by  this  method.  It  will  especially  help  you  to 
speak  to  others,  if  you  begin  with  telling  what  is  in  a  book, 

2.  But  the  principal  thing  is  personal  speaking.  Do  not  hold 
back  because  you  feel  no  freedom.  The  lyOrd  will  give  3'ou  free- 
dom in  His  own  time.  It  is  incredible  how  many  are  lost 
through  ignorance.  No  one  has  ever  personally  made  it  clear 
to  them  how  they  can  be  saved.  The  thought  that  a  change 
must  first  be  sought  and  felt  is  so  deeply  rooted  that  the  most 
faithful  preaching  is  often  of  no  avail  against  it.  By  their 
erroneous  ideas,  people  misunderstand  everything.  Begin  then 
to  speak  and  to  help  souls  to  understand  that  they  are  to  receive 
Jesus  just  as  they  are,  that  they  can  certainly  know  that  He  re- 
ceives them,  and  that  this  is  the  power  of  a  new  and  holy  life. 
146 


XXXI. 
MISSIONARY  WORK. 

"And  He  said  unto  them,  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  the  whole  creation.  And  they  went  forth,  and 
preached  everywhere,  the  Lord  working  with  them,  and  con- 
firming the  word  by  the  signs  that  followed."— Mark  xvi.  15,  20. 

EVERY  friend  of  Jesus  is  a  friend  of  missions. 
Where  there  is  a  healthy  spiritual  life,  there  is 
a  love  for  the  missionary  cause.  When  you  consider 
the  reasons  of  this,  you  obtain  an  insight  into  the 
glory  of  missions,  and  into  your  calling  to  embrace 
this  cause  as  a  part  of  your  soul's  life.  Come  and 
hear  how  much  there  is  to  make  missionary  work 
glorious  and  precious. 

1.  It  is  the  cause  for  which  Jesus  left  the  throne  of 
heaven.  The  heathen  are  His  inheritance,  given  to 
Him  by  His  Father.  It  is  in  heathendom  that  the 
power  of  Satan  has  been  established.  Jesus  must 
have  Himself  vindicated  as  the  conqueror.  His 
glory,  the  coming  and  manifestation  of  His  king- 
dom, depend  on  missions.^ 

2.  Missionary  work  is  the  principal  aim  of  the 
church  on  earth.     All  the  last  words  of  the  Lord 

'  Ps.  ii.  8 ;  Matt.  xidv.  14,  xxviii.  18,  28  ;  Mark  xiii.  10  ;  Luke 
xxi.  24 ;  Rom.  xi.  25. 


The  New  Life. 

Jesus  teach  us  this.^  The  Lord  is  the  head  and  He 
has  made  himself  dependent  upon  His  body,  upon 
His  members,  by  whom  alone  He  can  do  His  work.'* 
As  a  member  of  Christ,  as  a  member  of  the  Church, 
shall  I  npt  give  myself  to  take  part  in  the  work, 
that  this  goal  may  be  reached  ? 

3.  It  is  the  work  for  which  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
given.  See  this  in  the  promise  of  the  Spirit :  in  the 
leading  of  the  Spirit  vouchsafed  to  Peter  and  Barna- 
bas and  Saul.'  In  the  history  of  the  Church  we  find 
that  times  of  revival  go  hand  in  hand  with  new  zeal 
for  the  missionary  cause.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  always 
a  holyjenthusiasm  for  the  extension  of  the  kingdom. 

4.  Missionary  work  brings  blessing  on  the  Church. 
It  rouses  the  heroic  deeds  of  faith  and  self-denial.  It 
has  furnished  the  most  glorious  instances  of  the  won- 
drous power  of  the  Lord.  It  gives  heavenly  joy  over 
the  conversion  of  sinners  to  those  who  watch  for  it 
with  love  and  prayer.  It  cleanses  the  heart  to  under- 
stand God's  great  plans,  and  to  await  the  fulfillment 
of  them  in  supplication.  Missionary  work  is  a  token 
of  life  in  a  Church,  and  brings  more  life.* 

5.  What  a  blessing  it  is  for  the  world  ?  What  would 
we  have  been,  had  not  missionaries  come  to  our 
heathen  forefathers  in  Europe?  What  a  glorious 
blessing  has  not  missionary  work  already  won  in 
some  lands?    What  help  is  there  for  the  hundred 

1  Mark  xvi.  15  ;  I^uke  xxiv.  47  ;  John  xvii.  18  ;  Acts  i.  8. 

2  I  Cor.  xii.  21. 

3  Acts  i.  8,  xi.  12,  23,  24,  xiii.  2,  4,  xxii.  21. 

*  Acts  xiv.  27,  XV.  4,  5 ;  Rom.  xi.  25,  33,  xv.  10 ;  Eph.  iii-  5, 8, 10. 
148 


Missionary  Work. 

millions  of  heathen,  if  not  in  missions?-  Heaven 
and  hell  look  upon  missions  as  the  battlefield  where 
the  powers  of  Satan  and  of  Jesus  Christ  encounter 
one  another.  Alas !  that  the  conflict  should  be  car- 
ried on  so  feebly. 

6.  There  will  be  a  blessing  for  your  own  soul  in 
love  for  missionary  work.^ 

You  will  be  exercised  in  faith.  Missionary  work 
is  a  cause  for  faith,  where  everything  goes  on  slowly, 
and  not  according  to  the  fancy  of  men.  You  will 
learn  to  cleave  to  God  and  the  word. 

Love  will  be  awakened.  You  will  learn  to  go  out 
of  yourselves  and  your  little  circle,  and  with  an  open 
eye  and  a  large  heart  to  live  in  the  interests  of  your 
Lord  and  King :  you  will  feel  how  little  true  love  you 
have,  and  you  will  receive  more  love. 

You  will  be  drawn  into  prayer.  Your  calling  and 
power  as  an  intercessor  will  become  clearer  to  you, 
and  therewith  the  blessedness  of  thus  co-operating 
for  the  kingdom.  You  will  discern  how  it  is  the 
highest  conformity  to  Him  who  came  to  seek  the 
lost,  to  give  up  your  own  ease  and  rest  to  fight  in  love 
the  fight  of  prayer  against  Satan  in  behalf  of  the 
heathen. 

Young  Christian,  missionary  work  is  more  glorious 
and  holy  than  you  suppose.  There  is  more  blessing 
in  it  than  you  are  aware  of.  The  new  life  in  you 
depends  upon  it  more  than  you  can  as  yet  understand. 
Yield  yourself  up  anew  in  obedience  to  the  word  to 

1  Isa.  xlix.  6,  12,  i8,  22,  liv.  i,  2,  Ix. 

2  Prov.  xi.  24,  25  :  l&a..  iviiL  7.  8. 

149 


The  New  Life. 

give  missions  a  large  place  in  your  heart ;  yes,  in  your 
heart.  The  Lord  Himself  will  further  teach  and 
bless  you. 

And  if  you  would  know  how  to  have  your  love  for 
missions,  as  the  work  of  your  Lord,  increased,  attend 
to  the  following  hints  : — Become  acquainted  with  the 
missionary  cause.  Endeavor  by  writings  and  books 
to  know  what  the  condition  and  n«ed  of  heathendom 
is ;  what,  by  the  blessing  of  the  Lord,  has  been 
already  done  there ;  what  the  work  is  that  is  being 
done  now.  Speak  with  others  about  this  cause.  Per- 
haps there  could  be  instituted  in  your  neighborhood 
a  little  missionary  society.  Perhaps  one  of  yt)ur 
prayer-meetings,  say,  once  a  month,  could  be  set 
apart  for  prayer  in  behalf  of  the  missionary  cause. 
Pray  also  for  this  in  secret.  Let  the  coming  of 
the  kingdom  have  a  definite  place  in  your  secret 
prayers.  Endeavor  to  follow  the  material  for  prayer 
in  the  promises  of  the  word  about  the  heathen, 
in  the  whole  Scriptures,  especially  in  the  prophet 
Isaiah.^  Give  also  for  missions :  not  only  when  you 
are  asked ;  not  merely  what  you  can  spare  without 
feeling  it ;  but  set  apart  for  this  cause  a  portion  of 
what  you  possess  or  earn.  Let  the  Lord  see  that  you 
ere  in  earnest  with  His  work.  If  there  is  missionary 
work  that  is  being  done  in  your  neighborhood,  show 
yourself  a  friend  to  it.  Although  there  be  much  im- 
perfection in  that  work, — and  where  is  there  work  of 
man  that  is  perfect  ? — complain  not  of  the  imperfec- 
tion, but  look  upon  the  essence  of  the  cause,  the  en- 
1  Isa.  xlix.  6,  i8,  21,  22,  liv.  i,  3,  Ix.  i,  3,  11,  16,  Ixii.  2. 
150 


Missionary  Work. 

deavor  to  obey  the  command  of  the  Lord,  and  give 
your  prayer  and  your  help.  A  friend  of  Jesus  is  a 
friend  of  missions.  Love  for  missionary  work  is  an 
indispensable  element  of  the  new  life. 


Son  of  God,  when  Thou  didst  breathe  Thy  Spirit 
upon  Thy  disciples,  saying,  "Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  Thou  didst  add:  "As  the  Father  hath  sent 
Me,  even  so  send  I  you."  Lord,  here  am  I :  send  me 
also.  Breathe  Thy  Spirit  into  me  also,  that  I  may 
live  for  Thy  kingdom.     Amen. 

1.  "  Unknown  makes  unbeloved,"  is  a  word  that  is  specially 
true  of  missionary  work.  He  who  is  acquainted  with  the  won- 
ders that  God  has  wrought  in  some  lands,  will  praise  and  thank 
God  for  what  the  missionary  enterprise  has  achieved,  and  will 
be  strengthened  in  his  faith  that  missionary  work  is  really 
God's  own  cause. 

Among  the  books  that  help  to  awaken  interest  in  missions 
are  biographies  of  missionaries.  "  The  L,ife  of  Henry  Martyn  " 
is  one,  formerly  issued  by  the  Book  Society.  "  Uncle  Charles  " 
is  the  name  of  a  book  with  an  account  of  missionary  work  in 
South  Africa.  Some  books  on  missions  are  generally  to  be 
found  in  our  Sabbath-school  libraries. 

2.  We  should  never  forget  that  the  missionary  cause  is  an 
enterprise  of  faith.  It  requires  faith  in  the  promises  of  God, 
in  the  power  of  God.  It  has  need  of  love — love  to  Jesus,  whereby 
the  heart  is  filled  with  desire  for  His  honor,  and  love  to  souls, 
that  longs  for  their  safety.  It  is  a  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
"whom  the  world  cannot  receive:"  therefore  the  world  can 
approve  of  missions  only  when  they  go  forward  with  the  highest 
prosperity. 

3.  I,et  no  friend  of  missions  become  discouraged  when  the 
work  proceeds  slowly.  Although  all  baptized  black  men  are 
not  converted,  although  even  amongst  the  converts  there  is 


The  New  Life. 


still  much  perversity,  although  some  fall  back  after  a  fair  pro 
fession,  amongst  the  whites  also  everything  is  by  no  means 
perfect.  Among  our  forefathers  in  Europe,  a  whole  century 
was  occupied  with  the  introduction  of  Christianity.  Sometimes 
a  nation  received  Christianity  to  cast  it  oflf  again  after  thirty  or 
forty  years.  It  required  a  thousand  years  to  bring  them  up  to  the 
height  at  which  we  now  stand.  I^et  us  not  expect  too  much 
from  the  heathen  at  once,  but  with  love  and  patience  and  firm, 
faith,  pray  and  work,  and  expect  the  blessing  of  God- 
152 


XXXIL 

LIGHT  AND  JOYFULNESS. 

"  Blessed  Is  the  people  that  know  the  joyful  sound  :  they  walk, 
O  lyord,  in  the  light  of  Thy  countenance.  In  Thy  name  do  they 
rejoice  all  the  day." — Ps.  Ixxxix.  15,  16 

"  I/ight  is  sown  for  the  righteous,  and  gladness  for  the  upright 
in  heart."— Ps.  xcvii.  11, 

"  I  am  the  Light  of  the  worid  :  he  that  followeth  me  shall  not 
walk  in  the  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life."— John 
viii.  12. 

"I  will  see  you  again,  and  your  heart  shall  rejoice,  and  j'^our 
joy  no  one  taketh  away  from  you." — John  xvi.  22. 

*■'  As  sorrowful,  yet  always  rejoicing."— 2  Cor.  vi.  lo. 

A  FATHER  will  always  be  eager  to  see  his 
children  joyful.  He  does  all  that  he  can  to 
make  them  happy.  Hence  God  also  desires  that  His 
children  should  walk  before  Him  in  gladness  of 
heart.  He  has  promised  them  gladness ;  He  will  give 
it.  *  He  has  commanded  it :  we  must  take  it  and 
walk  in  it  at  all  times.'' 

The  reason  of  this  is  not  difl&cult  to  find.  Gladness 
is  always  the  token  that  something  really  satisfies  me 
and  has  great  value  for  me.  More  than  anything 
else  is  gladness  for  what  I  possess  a  recommendation 
of  it  to  others.     And  gladness  in  God  is  the  strongest 

1  Ps  Izxxix.  16,  17  ;  Isa.  xxix.  19  ;  John  xvi.  2a  j   i  Pet.  L  8. 
'  Ps.  xxxii.  II ;  Isa.  xii  5,  6 ;  i  Thess.  v.  16;  Phil.  Iv.  4. 


The  New  Life. 

proof  that  I  have  in  God  what  satisfies  and  satiates 
me,  that  I  do  not  serve  Him  with  dread,  or  to  be 
kept,  but  because  He  is  my  salvation.  Gladness  is 
the  token  of  the  truth  and  the  worth  of  obedience, 
showing  whether  I  have  pleasure  in  the  will  of  God.^ 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  joy  in  God  is  so  acceptable 
to  Him,  so  strengthening  to  believers  themselves, 
and  to  all  who  are  around  the  most  eloquent  testi- 
mony of  what  we  think  of  God.^ 

In  the  Scriptures  light  and  gladness  are  frequently 
connected  with  each  other.'  It  is  so  in  nature.  The 
joyful  light  of  the  morning  awakens  the  birds  to 
their  song  and  gladdens  the  watchers  who  in  the 
darkness  have  longed  for  the  day.  It  is  the  light  of 
God's  countenance  that  gives  the  Christian  his  glad- 
ness :  in  fellowship  with  his  Lord,  he  can,  and 
always  will,  be  happy  :  the  love  of  the  Father  shines 
like  the  sun  upon  His  children.*  When  darkness 
comes  over  the  soul,  it  is  always  through  one  of  two 
things,  through  sin  or  through  unbelief.  Sin  is 
darkness,  and  makes  dark.  And  unbelief  also  makes 
dark,  for  it  turns  us  from  Him,  who  alone  is  the  light. 

The  question  is  sometimes  put,  Can  the  Christian 
walk  always  in  the  light  ?  The  answer  of  our  Lord 
is  clear,  ' '  He  that  followeth  Me  shall  not  walk  in 
darkness."  It  is  sin,  the  turning  from  behind  Jesus 
to  our  own  way,  that  makes  dark.   But  at  the  moment 

'  Deut.  xxviii.  47  ;  Ps.  xi.  9,  cxix.  11. 
2Neh.  viii.  11  ;  Ps.  Ixviii.  4  ;  Prov.  iv.  18. 
3Esth.  viii.  16 ;  Prov.  xiii.  9,  xv.  30 ;  Isa.  Ix.  20. 
*Ex.  X.  23  ;  2  Sam.  xxiii.  4 ;  Ps.  xxxvi.  10 ;  Isa.  Ix.  i,  20;  i  John 
i.  5,  iv.  16. 


Ligli.t  and  Joyfulness. 

we  confess  sin,  and  have  it  cleansed  in  the  blood,  we 
are  again  in  the  light. ^  Or  it  is  unbelief  that  makes 
dark.  We  look  to  ourselves  and  our  strength ;  we 
would  seek  comfort  in  our  own  feeling,  or  our  own 
works,  and  all  becomes  dark.  As  soon  as  we  look  to 
Jesus,  to  the  fulness,  to  the  perfect  provision  for  our 
needs  that  is  in  Him,  all  is  right.  He  says,  "  I  am 
the  Light :  he  that  foUoweth  me  shall  not  walk  in 
darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life."  So  long 
as  I  believe,  I  have  light  and  gladness.' 

Christians,  who  would  walk  according  to  the  will 
of  the  Ivord,  hear  what  His  word  says  :  **  Finally,  my 
brethren,  rejoice  in  the  Lord.  Rejoice  in  the  Lord 
alway :  again,  I  will  say,  Rejoice."  '  In  the  Lord 
Jesus  there  is  joy  unspeakable,  and  full  of  glory : 
believing  in  Him,  rejoice  in  this.  Live  the  life  of 
faith :  that  life  is  salvation  and  glorious  joy.  A  heart 
that  gives  itself  undividedly  to  follow  Jesus,  that 
lives  by  faith  in  Him  and  His  love,  shall  have  light 
and  gladness.  Therefore,  soul,  only  believe.  Do  not 
seek  gladness;  in  that  case  you  will  not  find  it, 
because  you  are  seeking  feeling.  But  seek  Jesus, 
follow  Jesus,  believe  in  Jesus,  and  gladness  shall  be 
added  to  you.  "  Not  seeing  but  believing,  rejoice 
with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.'* 


Lord  Jesus,  Thou  art  the  light  of  the  world,  the 
Effulgence  of  the  unapproachable  light,  in  whom  we 

1  Josh.  vii.  13  ;  Is.  Iviii.  10,  lix.  I,  2,  9  ;  Matt.  xv.  I4, 16 ;  a  Cor.  vL 
14 ;  Eph.  V.  8,  14  ;  i  Thess.  V.  5  ;  I  John  ii.  10. 

*  John  xii.  36,  xi  40  ;  Rom.  xv.  13  ;  i  Pet.  i.  8. 

'  PhiL  iii.  i,  iv.  4. 


The  New  Life. 

see  the  liglit  of  God.  From  Thy  countenance  radi- 
ates upon  us  the  illumination  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  love  and  glory  of  God.  And  Thou  art  ours,  our 
light  and  our  salvation,  O  teach  us  to  believe  more 
firmly  that  with  Thee  we  can  never  walk  in  the 
darkness.  Let  gladness  in  Thee  be  the  proof  that 
Thou  art  all  to  us,  and  our  strength  to  do  all  that 
Thou  wouldst  have  us  do.     Amen. 

1.  The  gladness  that  I  have  in  anything  is  the  measure  of  its 
worth  m  my  eyes  *.  the  gladness  in  a  person^  the  measure  of  my 
pleasure  in  him :  the  gladness  in  a  work  the  measure  of  my 
pleasure  in  it.  Gladness  .in  God  and  His  service  is  one  of  the 
surest  tokens  of  healthy  spiritual  life. 

2.  Gladness  is  hindered  by  ignorance,  when  we  do  not  rightly 
understand  God  and  His  love  and  the  blessedness  of  His  service : 
by  unbelief;  whom  we  still  seek  something  in  our  own  strength 
or  feeling:  by  double-heartedness,  when  we  are  not  willing  to 
give  up  and  lay  aside  everything  for  Jesus. 

3.  Understand  this  saying;  "  He  that  seeks  gladness  shall  not 
find  it*  he  that  seeks  the  Lord  and  His  will,  shall  find  gladness 
unsought."  Think  over  this.  He  that  seeks  gladness  as  a  thing 
of  feeling,  seeks  himself :  he  would  fain  be  happy !  he  will  not 
find  it.  He  that  forgets  himself  to  live  in  the  I,ord  and  His  will, 
shall  be  taught  of  himself  to  rejoice  in  the  I^ord.  It  is  God,  God 
Himself,  who  is  the  God  of  the  gladness  of  our  rejoicing:  seek 
God,  and  you  have  gladness.  You  have  then  simply  to  take  and 
enjoy  it  by  faith. 

4  To  thank  much  for  what  God  is  and  does,  to  believe  much 
in  what  God  says  and  will  do,  is  the  way  to  abiding  gladness. 

5.  "  The  light  of  the  eyes  gladdens  the  heart."  God  has  not 
intended  that  His  children  should  walk  in  the  darkness,  Satan 
is  the  prince  of  the  darkness  ;  God  is  light :  Christ  is  the  Light 
of  the  world :  we  are  children  of  the  light :  let  us  walk  in  the 
light.  Let  us  believe  in  the  promise,  *'  The  Lord  shall  be  to  thee 
an  everlasting  light.  Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  dowo,  for  the 
Lord  shall  be  to  thee  an  everlasting  light,  and  the  days  of  thy 
mourning  shall  be  ended." 

156 


XXXIII. 

CHASTISEMENT. 

"Blessed  is  the  man  whom  Thou  chastenest,  O  IvOrd,  and 
teachest  out  of  Thy  law  ;  that  Thou  mayest  give  him  rest  from 
the  days  of  adversity." — Ps.  xciv.  12. 

"  Before  I  was  afflicted,  I  went  astray  ;  but  now  I  observe  Thy 
word.  It  is  good  for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted  ;  that  I  might 
learn  Thy  statutes."— Ps.  cxix.  67,  71. 

"He  chastens  us  for  our  profit,  that  we  may  be  partakers  of 
His  holiness." — Heb.  xii.  10. 

"  Count  it  all  joy,  my  brethren,  when  ye  fall  into  manifold 
temptations ;  knowing  that  the  proof  of  your  faith  worketh 
patience.  "—J AS.  i.  2,  3. 

EVERY  child  of  God  must  at  one  time  or  another 
enter  the  school  of  trial.  What  the  Scriptures 
teach  us  is  confirmed  by  experience.  And  the  Scrip- 
tures teach  us  further,  that  we  are  to  count  it  a  joy- 
when  God  takes  us  into  this  school.  It  is  a  part  of 
our  heavenly  blessedness  to  be  educated  and  sancti- 
fied by  the  Father  through  chastisement. 

Not  that  trial  in  itself  brings  a  blessing.^  Just  as 
there  is  no  profit  in  the  ground's  being  made  wet  by 
rain  or  broken  up  by  the  plough,  when  no  seed  is 
cast  into  it,  so  there  are  children  of  God  that  enter 
into  trial  and  have  little  blessing  from  it.  The  heart 
is  softened  for  a  time,  but  they  know  not  how  to  ob- 

1  Isa.  V.  3  ;  Hos.  viL  14,  15  ;  2  Cor.  vii.  10. 

157 


The  New  Life. 

tain  an  abiding  blessing  from  it.  They  know  not 
what  the  Father  has  in  view  with  them  in  the  school 
of  trial. 

In  a  good  school  there  are  four  things  necessary — 
a  definite  aim,  a  good  text-book,  a  capable  teacher,  a 
willing  pupil. 

1.  Let  the  aim  of  trial  be  clear  to  you.  Holiness 
is  the  highest  glory  of  the  Father,  and  also  of  the 
child.  He  "  chastens  us  for  our  profit  that  we  may 
be  partakers  of  His  Holiness: '  ^  In  trial  the  Christian 
would  often  have  only  comfort.  Or  he  seeks  to  be 
quiet  and  contented  under  the  special  chastisement. 
This  is  indeed  the  beginning  ;  but  the  Father  desires 
something  else,  something  higher.  He  would  make 
him  holy,  holy,  for  his  whole  life.  When  Job  said, 
"  Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  I/ord,"  this  was  still  but 
the  beginning  of  his  school-time  :  the  Lord  had  still 
more  to  teach  him.  God  would  unite  our  will  with 
His  holy  will,  not  only  on  the  one  point  in  which  He 
is  trying  us,  but  in  everything  :  God  would  fill  us 
with  His  Holy  Spirit,  with  His  holiness.  This  is  the 
aim  of  God ;  this  also  must  be  your  aim  in  the  school 
of  trial. 

2.  Let  the  word  of  God  at  this  time  be  your  read- 
ing book.  See  in  our  trials  how  in  affliction  God 
would  teach  us  out  of  His  law.  The  word  will  reveal 
to  you  why  the  F'ather  chastens  you,  how  deeply  He 
loves  you  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  how  rich  are  the 
promises  of  His  consolation.      Trial  will  give  new 

1  Isa.  xxvii.  8,  9  ;  i  Cor.  xi.  32  ;  Heb.  ii.  10,  xii.  11. 
158 


Chastisement. 

glory  to  the  promises  of  the  Father.    In  chastisement 
have  recourse  to  the  word.^ 

3.  Let  Jesus  be  your  teacher.  He  Himself  was 
sanctified  by  suffering :  it  was  in  suffering  that  He 
learned  full  obedience.  He  has  a  wonderfully  sym- 
pathetic heart.  Have  much  intercourse  with  Him. 
Seek  not  your  comfort  from  much  speaking  on  the 
part  of  men  or  with  men.  Give  Jesus  the  opportu- 
nity of  teaching  you.  Have  much  converse  with  Him 
in  solitude.^  The  Father  has  given  you  the  word,  the 
Spirit,  the  Lord  Jesus  your  sanctification,  in  order  to 
sanctify  you  :  affliction  and  chastisement  are  meant 
to  bring  you  to  the  word,  to  Jesus  Himself,  in  order 
that  He  may  make  you  partaker  of  His  holiness.  It 
is  in  fellowship  with  Jesus  that  consolation  comes  as 
of  itself.' 

4.  Be  a  willing  pupil.  Acknowledge  your  ignor- 
ance. Think  not  that  you  understand  the  will  of 
God.  Ask  and  expect  that  the  Lord  would  teach  you 
the  lesson  that  you  are  to  learn  in  affliction.  To  the 
meek  there  is  the  promise  of  teaching  and  wisdom. 
Seek  to  have  the  ear  open,  the  heart  very  quiet,  and 
turned  towards  God.  Know  that  it  is  the  Father  that 
has  placed  you  in  the  school  of  trial :  yield  yourself 
with  all  willingness  to  hear  what  He  says,  to  learn 
what  He  would  have  you  taught.  He  will  bless  you 
greatly  in  this.* 

*' Happy  is  the  man  whom  Thou  chastenest,  and 
1  Ps.  cxix.  49,  50  92,  143 ;  Isa.  xl.  i,  xliii.  2  ;  i  Thess.  iv.  8. 
2lsa.  xxvi.  16,  Ixi.  i,  2  ;  Heb.  ii.  10,  17,  18,  v.  9. 
3  2  Cor.  i.  3,  4;  Heb.  xiii.  5,  6.     ^ 
*Ps.  XXV.  9,  xx.xix.  2,  10  ;  Isa.  1.  4,  5. 

159 


The  New  lyife. 

teachest  out  of  Thy  law."  "Count  it  all  joy  when 
ye  fall  into  manifold  temptations,"  "  that  ye  may  be 
perfect,  lacking  in  nothing."  Regard  the  time  of 
trial  as  a  time  of  blessing,  as  a  time  of  close  converse 
with  the  Father,  of  being  made  partaker  of  His  holi- 
ness, and  you  shall  also  rejoicingly  say:  "It  is  good 
for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted." 


Father,  what  thanks  shall  I  express  to  Thee  for  the 
glorious  light  that  Thy  word  casts  upon  the  dark 
trials  of  this  life?  Thou  wilt  by  this  means  teach 
me,  and  make  me  partaker  of  Thy  holiness.  Hast 
Thou  considered  the  suffering  and  the  death  of  Thy 
beloved  Son  not  too  much  to  bring  holiness  near  to 
me,  and  shall  I  not  be  willing  to  endure  Thy  chas- 
tisement to  be  partaker  of  it?  No:  Father,  thanks 
be  unto  Thee  for  Thy  precious  work  :  only  fulfill  Thy 
counsel  in  me.     Amen. 

1.  In  chastisement  it  is  first  of  all  necessary  that  we  should 
be  possessed  by  the  thought :  This  is  the  will  of  God.  Although 
the  trial  comes  through  our  own  folly  or  the  perversity  of  men, 
we  must  acknowledge  that  it  is  the  will  of  God  that  we  should 
be  in  that  suffering  by  means  of  that  folly  or  perversity.  We  see 
this  clearly  in  Joseph  and  the  L,ord  Jesus.  Nothing  will  give  us 
rest  but  the  willing  acknowledgment :  this  is  the  will  of  God. 

2.  The  second  thought  is  :  God  wills  not  only  the  trial,  but 
also  the  consolation,  the  power,  and  the  blessing  in  it.  He  who 
acknowledges  the  will  of  God  in  the  chastisement  itself  is  on 
the  way  to  see  and  experience  the  accompaniments  also  as  the 
will  of  God. 

3.  The  will  of  God  is  as  perfect  as  He  Himself:  let  us  not  be 
afraid  to  surrender  ourselves  to  it :  no  one  suffers  loss  by  deem- 
ing the  will  of  God  unconditionally  good, 

160 


Chastisement. 


4.  This  is  holiness  :  to  know  and  to  adore  the  will  of  God,  to 
unite  one's  self  wholly  with  it. 

5.  Pray,  seek  not  comfort  in  trial  in  connection  with  men.  Do 
not  mingle  too  much  with  them  :  see  to  it  rather  that  you  deal 
with  God  and  His  word.  The  object  of  trial  is  just  to  draw  you 
away  from  what  is  earthly,  in  order  that  you  may  turn  to  God 
and  give  Him  time  to  unite  your  will  with  His  perfect  wilL 

II  161 


XXXIV. 

PRAYER. 

*'  Thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thine  inner  chamber, 
and  having  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret, 
and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret  shall  recompense  thee."— 
Matt.  vi.  6. 

nPHE  Spiritual  life  with  its  growth  depends  in 
i  great  measure  on  prayer.  According  as  I  pray 
much  or  little,  pray  with  pleasure  or  as  a  duty,  pray 
according  to  the  word  of  God  or  my  own  inclination, 
will  my  life  flourish  or  decay.  In  the  word  of  Jesus 
quoted  above,  we  have  the  leading  ideas  of  true 
prayer. 

Alone  with  God :  that  is  the  first  thought.  The 
door  must  be  shut,  with  the  world  and  man  outside, 
because  I  am  to  have  converse  with  God  undisturbed. 
When  God  met  with  His  servants  in  the  olden  time, 
He  took  them  alone.i  Let  the  first  thought  in  your 
prayer  be :  here  are  God  and  I  in  the  chamber  with 
each  other.  According  to  your  conviction  of  the 
nearness  of  God  will  be  the  power  of  your  prayer. 

In  the  presence  of  your  Father  :  this  is  the  second 
thought.  You  come  to  the  inner  chamber,  because 
your  Father  with  His  love  awaits  you  there.  Although 
you  are  cold,  dark,  sinful ;  although  it  is  doubtful 

iGen.  xviii.  22,  23,  xxii.  5,  xxxii.  24  ;  Ex.  xxxiii.  11. 
162 


Prayer. 

whether  you  can  pray  at  all ;  come,  because  the 
Father  is  there,  and  there  looks  upon  you.  Set  your- 
self beneath  the  light  of  His  eye.  Believe  in  His 
tender  fatherly  love,  and  out  of  this  faith  prayer  will 
be  born.  ^ 

Count  certainly  upon  aft  answer :  that  is  the  third 
point  in  the  word  of  Jesus.  "Your  Father  will 
recompense  you  openly,"  There  is  nothing  about 
which  the  Ivord  Jesus  has  spoken  so  positively  as 
the  certainty  of  an  answer  to  prayer.  Pray,  review 
the  promises.^  Observe  how  constantly  in  the 
Psalms,  that  prayer-book  of  God's  saints,  God  is 
called  upon  as  the  God  who  hears  prayer  and  gives 
answers.^ 

It  may  be  that  there  is  much  in  you  that  prevents 
the  answer.  Delay  in  the  answer  is  a  very  blessed 
discipline.  It  leads  to  self-searching  as  to  whether 
we  are  praying  amiss,  and  whether  our  life  is  truly  in 
harmony  with  our  prayer.  It  rouses  to  a  purer  exer- 
cise of  faith.*  It  conducts  to  a  closer  and  more  per- 
sistent converse  with  God.  The  sure  confidence  of 
an  answer  is  the  secret  of  powerful  praying.  Let 
this  always  be  with  us  the  chief  thing  in  prayer. 
When  you  pray,  stop  in  the  midst  of  your  prayer  to 
ask,  Do  I  believe  that  I  am  receiving  what  I  pray  for? 

1  Matt.  vi.  8,  vii.  ii. 

9  Matt.  V.  1,  7,  8,  xi.  24  ;  I,uke  xviii.  8 ;  John  xiv.  13,  14,  xv.  7, 
16,  xvi.  23,  24. 

3  Ps.  iii.  5,  iv.  4,  vi.  10,  x.  17,  xvii.  6,  22,  25,  xx.  2,  7,  10,  xxxiv.  5, 
7,  18,  xxxviii.  16,  xl.  2,  Ixv.  3,  Ixvi.  19. 

<  Josh.  vii.  12  ,  I  Sam.  viii.  18,  xiv.  37,  38,  xxviii.  6,  15  ;  Prov, 
xxi.  13  ;  Isa.  i.  15  ;  Mic.  iii.  4 ;  Hag.  i.  9  ;  Jas.  i.  6,  iv.  3,  v.  16. 

163 


The  New  Life. 

Let  your  faith  receive  and  hold  fast  the  answer  as 
given  :  it  shall  turn  out  according  to  your  faith.^ 

Beloved  young  Christians,  if  there  is  one  thing 
about  which  you  must  be  conscientious,  it  is  this  : 
secret  converse  with  God.  Your  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God.  Every  day  must  you  in  prayer  ask 
from  above,  and  by  faith  receive  in  prayer  what  you 
need  for  that  day.  Every  day  must  personal  inter- 
course with  the  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  be  re- 
newed and  strengthened.  God  is  our  salvation  and 
our  strength :  Christ  is  our  life  and  our  holiness : 
only  in  personal  fellowship  with  the  living  God  is 
our  blessedness  found. 

Christian,  pray  much,  pray  continually,  pray  with- 
out ceasing.  When  you  have  no  desire  to  pray,  go 
just  then  to  the  inkier  chamber.  Go  as  one  who  has 
nothing  to  bring  to  the  Father,  to  set  yourself  before 
Him  in  faith  in  His  love.  That  coming  to  the  Father, 
and  abiding  before  Him,  is  already  a  prayer  that  He 
understands.  Be  assured  that  to  appear  before  God, 
however  passively,  always  brings  a  blessing.  The 
Father  not  only  hears:  He  sees  in  secret,  and  He 
will  recompense  it  openly. 


O  my  Father,  who  hast  so  certainly  promised  in 
Thy  word  to  hear  the  prayer  of  faith,  give  to  me  the 
Spirit  of  prayer,  that  I  may  know  how  to  offer  that 
prayer.      Graciously  reveal  to  me  Thy  wonderful 

J  Ps.  cxlv.  9  ;  Isa.  xxx.  19 ;  Jer.  xxxiii.  3  ;  Mai.  iii.  10  ;  Matt. 
ix.  29,  XV.  28 ;  1  John  iii.  22,  v.  14,  15, 

164 


Prayer. 

Fatherly  love,  the  complete  blotting  out  of  my  sins 
in  Christ,  by  which  every  hindrance  in  this  direction 
is  taken  away,  and  the  intercession  of  the  Spirit  in 
me,  by  which  my  ignorance  or  weakness  cannot  de- 
prive me  of  the  blessing.  Teach  me  with  faith  in 
Thee,  the  Three-One,  to  pray  in  fellowship  with 
Thee.  And  confirm  me  in  the  strong  living  certitude 
that  I  receive  what  I  believingly  ask.     Amen. 

1.  In  prayer  the  principal  thing  is  faith.  The  whole  of  salva- 
vation,  the  whole  of  the  new  life  is  by  faith,  therefore  also  by 
prayer.  There  is  all  too  much  prayer  that  brings  nothing,  be- 
cause there  is  little  faith  in  it.  Before  I  pray,  and  while  I  pray, 
and  after  I  have  prayed,  I  must  ask  :  Do  I  pray  in  faith?  I 
must  say  :  I  believe  with  my  whole  heart. 

2.  To  arrive  at  this  faith  we  must  take  time  in  prayer  :  time 
to  set  ourselves  silently  and  trustfully  before  God,  and  to  become 
awake  to  His  presence  :  time  to  have  our  soul  sanctified  in  fel- 
lowship with  God  :  time  for  the  Holy  Spirit  to  teach  us  to  hold 
fast  and  use  trustfully  the  word  of  promise.  No  earthly  know- 
ledge, no  earthly  possessions,  no  earthly  food,  no  intercourse 
with  friends,  can  we  have  without  time,  sufficient  time.  I^et  us 
not  think  to  learn  how  to  pray,  how  to  enjoy  the  power  and  the 
blessedness  of  prayer,  if  we  do  not  take  time  with  God. 

3.  And  then  there  must  be  not  only  time  every  day,  but  per- 
severance from  day  to  day.  Time  is  required  to  grow  in  the 
certitude  that  we  are  acceptable  to  the  Father,  and  that  our 
prayer  has  power,  in  the  filial  confidence  which  knows  that  our 
prayer  is  according  to  His  will,  and  is  heard.  We  must  not 
suppose  that  we  know  well  enough  how  to  pray,  and  can  but 
ask,  and  then  it  is  over.  No  :  prayer  is  converse  and  fellowship 
with  God,  in  which  God  has  time  and  opportunity  to  work  in 
us,  in  which  our  souls  die  to  their  own  will  and  power,  and  be- 
come bound  up  and  united  with  God. 

4.  For  encouragement  in  persistent  prayer,  the  following  in- 
stance may  be  of  service.  In  an  address  delivered  at  Calcutta, 
George  Miiller  recently  said  that  in  1844  five  persons  were  laid 

i6s 


The  New  Life. 

upon  his  heart,  and  that  he  began  to  pray  for  their  conversion. 
:Eighteen  months  passed  by  before  the  first  was  converted.  He 
prayed  five  years  more,  when  the  second  was  converted.  After 
twelve  years  and  a  half  yet  another  was  converted.  And  now  he 
has  already  prayed  forty  years  for  the  other  two,  without  let- 
ting slip  a  single  day;  and  still  they  are  not  converted.  He 
was,  nevertheless,  full  of  courage  in  the  sure  confidence  that 
these  two  also  would  be  given  him  in  answer  to  his  prayer. 

5.  In    the    book,    "With    Christ  in    the    School  of  Prayer: 
Thoughts  on  our  Training  for  the  Ministry  of  Intercession  " 
(Nisbet  &  Co.),  I  have  endeavored  in  thirty-one  meditations  to 
explain  the  principal  points  of  the  life  of  prayer. 
166 


XXXV. 

THE  PRAYER  MEETING, 

"  Again  I  say  unto  you,  that  if  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth 
as  touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for 
them  of  My  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  For  where  two  or  three 
are  gathered  together  in  My  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of 
them." — Matt,  xviii.  19,  20. 

THE  Lord  Jesus  has  told  us  to  go  into  the  inner 
chamber  and  hold  our  personal  converse  with 
God  by  prayer  in  secret,  and  not  to  be  seen  of  men. 
The  very  same  voice  tells  us  that  we  are  also  to  pray 
in  fellowship  with  one  another.^  And  when  He  went 
to  heaven,  the  birth  of  the  Christian  Church  took 
place  in  a  prayer  meeting  which  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men  and  women  held  for  ten  days.^  The  Day 
of  Pentecost  was  the  fruit  of  unanimous  persevering 
prayer.  Let  every  one  who  would  please  the  Lord 
Jesus,  who  desires  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  with  power 
for  his  congregation  or  Church,  who  would  have  the 
blessing  of  fellowship  with  the  children  of  God, 
attach  himself  to  a  prayer  meeting,  and  prove  the 
Lord  whether  He  will  make  good  His  word  and 
bestow  upon  it  a  special  blessing.'     And  let  him  give 

1  Matt.  vi.  6  ;  Luke  ix.  18,  28. 
a  Acts  i.  14. 

82  Chron.  xx.  4,  17  ;  Neh.  ix.  2,  3  ;  Joel  ii.  16,  17  ;  Acts  xii.  5. 
167 


The  New  Life. 

help  in  it,  so  that  the  prayer  meeting  may  be  such 
as  the  Lord  presented  it  to  us. 

For  a  blessed  prayer-meeting,  there  must  be,  first 
of  all,  agreement  concerning  the  thing  which  we 
desire.  There  must  be  something  that  we  really  de- 
sire to  have  from  God  ;  and  concerning  this  we  are  to 
be  in  harmony.  There  must  be  inner  love  and  unity 
amongst  the  suppliants, — all  that  is  strife,  envy, 
wrath,  lovelessness,  makes  prayer  powerless,^ — and 
then  agreement  on  the  definite  object  that  is  desired.'^ 
For  this  end  it  is  entirely  proper  that  what  people  are 
to  pray  for  should  be  stated  in  the  prayer  meeting. 
Whether  it  be  that  one  of  the  members  would  have 
his  particular  needs  brought  forward,  or  whether 
others  would  bring  more  general  needs  to  the  Lord, 
such  as  the  conversion  of  the  unconverted,  the  revival 
of  God's  children,  the  anointing  of  the  teacher,  the 
extension  of  the  kingdom,  let  the  objects  be  an- 
nounced beforehand.  And  let  no  one  then  suppose 
that  there  is  unanimity  whenever  one  is  content  to 
join  in  prayer  for  these  objects.  No  :  we  are  to  take 
them  into  our  heart  and  life,  bring  them  continually 
before  the  Lord,  be  inwardly  eager  that  the  Lord 
should  give  them  :  then  we  are  on  the  way  to  the 
prayer  that  has  power. 

The  second  feature  that  characterizes  a  right  prayer 
meeting  is  the  coming  together  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
and  the  consciousness  of  His  presence.  The  Scrip- 
ture says,  **The  name  of  the  Lord  is  a  strong  tower : 

1  Ps.  cxxxiii.  I,  3  ;  Jer.  Iviii.  4  ;  Matt.  v.  23,  24 ;  Mark  xi.  25. 
'  Jer.  xxxii.  39  ;  Acts  iv.  24. 

168 


The  Prayer  Meeting. 

the  righteous  runneth  into  it,  and  is  safe."  ^^  The 
name  is  the  expression  of  the  person.  When  they 
come  together,  believers  are  to  enter  into  the  name 
of  Jesus,  to  betake  themselves  within  this  name  as 
their  fortress  and  abode.  In  this  name  they  mingle 
with  one  another  before  the  Father,  and  out  of  this 
name  they  pray :  this  name  makes  them  also  truly 
one  with  each  other.  And  when  they  are  thus  in 
this  name,  the  living  Lord  Himself  is  in  their  midst : 
and  He  says  that  this  is  the  reason  why  the  Father 
certainly  hears  them.^  They  are  in  Him,  and  He  is 
in  them,  and  out  of  Him  they  pray,  and  their  prayer 
comes  before  the  Father  in  His  power.  O  let  the 
name  of  Jesus  be  really  the  point  of  union,  the 
meeting-place,  in  our  prayer  meetings,  and  we  shall 
be  conscious  that  He  is  in  our  midst. 

Then  there  is  the  third  feature  of  united  prayer  of 
which  the  Lord  has  told  us  :  our  request  shall  cer- 
tainly be  done  of  the  Heavenly  Father.  The  prayer 
shall  certainly  be  answered.  O  we  may  well  cry  out 
in  these  days,  ''Where  is  the  God  of  Elijah?"  for 
He  was  a  God  that  answered.  ♦'  The  God  that  shall 
answer,  He  shall  be  God,"  said  Elijah  to  the  people. 
And  he  said  to  God,  "Answer  me.  Lord  ;  answer  me; 
that  this  people  may  acknowledge  that  Thou,  O  Lord, 
art  God."  '  When  we  are  content  with  much  pray- 
ing, with  continuous  praying,  without  answer,  then 

1  Prov.  xviii.  lo. 

*  John  xiv.  13,  14,  XV.  7,  16,  xvi.  2^,  24. 

3 1  Chron.  xviii.  24,  37 ;  Jas.  v.  16. 

*  The  Dutch  version  has — "  and  is  set  in  a  high  room.'*— Ta. 
169 


The  New  Life. 

there  will  be  little  answer  given.  But  when  we  un- 
derstand that  the  answer  as  the  token  of  God's  pleas- 
ure in  our  prayer  is  the  principal  thing,  and  are  not 
willing  to  be  content  without  it,  we  shall  discover 
what  is  lacking  in  our  prayer,  and  shall  set  ourselves 
so  to  pray  that  an  answer  may  come.  And  this 
surely  we  may  firmly  believe  :  the  Lord  takes  delight 
in  answering.  It  is  a  joy  to  Him  when  His  people  so 
enter  into  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  pray  out  of  it,  that 
He  can  give  what  they  desire.^ 

Children  of  God,  however  young  and  weak  you 
may  still  be,  here  is  one  of  the  institutions  prepared 
for  you  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself  to  supply  you  with 
help  in  prayer.  Let  every  one  make  use  of  the  prayer 
meeting.  Let  every  one  go  in  a  praying  and  believ- 
ing frame  of  mind,  seeking  the  name  and  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord.  Let  every  one  seek  to  live  and 
pray  with  His  brethren  and  sisters.  And  let  every 
one  expect  surely  to  see  glorious  answers  to  prayer. 


Blessed  Lord  Jesus,  who  hast  given  us  command- 
ment to  pray,  as  well  in  the  solitary  inner  chamber 
as  in  public  fellowship  with  one  another,  let  the  one 
habit  always  make  the  other  more  precious  as  com- 
plement and  confirmation.  Let  the  inner  chamber 
prepare  us,  and  awaken  the  need  for  union  with  Thy 
people  in  prayer.  Let  Thy  presence  there  be  our 
blessedness.  And  let  fellowship  with  Thy  people 
strengthen  us  surely  to  expect  and  receive  answers. 

Amen. 

1  Acts  xii.  5  ;  2  Cor.  i.  u  ;  Jas.  iv  3,  v.  16,  17. 

170 


The  Prayer  Meeting. 


1.  There  are  many  places  of  our  country  where  prayer  meet« 
Xigs  might  be  a  great  blessing.  A  pious  man  or  woman  who 
should  once  a  week  or  on  Sabbath  at  mid-day  gather  together 
the  inhabitants  on  a  farm-place  or  the  neighbors  of  two  or  three 
places  that  are  not  far  from  one  another,  might  be  able  to  obtain 
great  blessing.  L,et  every  believing  reader  of  this  portion  in- 
quire if  there  does  not  exist  in  his  neighborhood  some  such  need, 
and  let  him.  make  a  beginning  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Let 
me  therefore  earnestly  put  the  question  to  every  reader  ;  Is  there 
a  prayer-meeting  in  your  district  ?  Do  you  faithfully  take  part 
in  it  ?  Do  you  know  what  it  is  to  come  together  with  the  chil- 
dren of  God  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  to  experience  His  presence 
and  His  hearing  of  prayer  ? 

2.  There  is  a  book,  "  The  Hour  of  Prayer  "  with  suitable  por- 
tions for  reading  out  in  such  gatherings.  Or  let  this  book, 
"The  New  Life/'  be  taken,  a  portion  read,  and  some  of  the 
texts  reviewed  and  spoken  upon  :  this  will  give  material  for 
prayer. 

3.  Will  the  prayer  meeting  do  no  harm  to  the  inner  chamber? 
is  a  question  son^etimes  asked.  My  experience  is  just  the  re- 
verse of  this  result.  The  prayer  meeting  is  a  school  of  prayer. 
The  weak  learn  from  more  advanced  petitioners.  Material  for 
prayer  is  g^ven  :  opportunity  for  self-searching  ;  encouragement 
to  more  prayer. 

4.  Would  that  it  were  more  general  in  prayer  meetings  for 
people  to  speak  of  definite  objects  for  which  to  pray  ;  things  in 
which  one  can  definitely  and  trustfully  look  out  for  an  answer, 
and  concerning  which  one  can  know  when  an  answer  comes. 
Such  announcements  would  greatly  further  unanimity  and  be- 
lieving expectation. 

171 


XXXVI. 
THE  FEAR  OF  THE  LORD. 

"  Blessed  is  the  man  that  feareth  the  L,ord.  He  shall  not  be 
afraid  of  exdl  tidings.  His  heart  is  established,  he  shall  not  be 
afraid."— Ps.  cxii.  i,  7,  8. 

"  So  the  Church,  walking  in  the  fear  of  the  I^ord  and  in  the 
comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  was  multiplied."— Acts  ix.  31. 

THE  Scriptures  use  the  word  "  fear  "  in  a  twofold 
way.  In  some  places  it  speaks  of  "fear"  as 
something  wrong  and  sinful,  and  in  the  strongest 
terms  it  forbids  us  to  "fear."i  jjj  well-nigh  one 
hundred  places  occurs  the  word  :  "  Fear  not."  In  many- 
other  places,  on  the  contrary,  fear  is  praised  as  one 
of  the  surest  tokens  of  true  godliness,  acceptable  to 
the  Lord,  and  fruitful  of  blessing  to  us.'^  The  people 
of  God  bear  the  name :  those  that  fear  the  Lord. 
The  distinction  betwixt  these  two  lies  in  this  simple 
fact :  the  one  is  unbelieving  fear,  the  other  is  believing. 
Where  fear  is  found  connected  with  lack  of  trust  in 
God,  there  it  is  sinful  and  very  hurtful.'  The  fear,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  is  coupled  with  trust  and  hope 
in  God,  is  for  the  spiritual  life  entirely  indispensable. 
The  fear  that  has  man  and  what  is  temporal  for  its 

1  Gen.  XV.  1  ,  Isa.  viii.  13  ;   Jer.  xxxii.  40;    Rom.  xaii.  15;  i  Pet. 
iii.  14 ;  1  John  iv.  18. 
2Ps.  xxii  24,  26,  xxxiii.  18,  cxii.  i,  cxv.  13  ;  Prov.  xxviiL  14. 
'Matt.  viii.  26  ;  Rev.  xxi.  9. 

172 


The  Fear  of  the  Lord. 

object,  is  condemned.  The  fear  that  with  childlike 
confidence  and  love  honors  the  Father,  is  com- 
manded.i  It  is  the  believing,  not  slavish,  but  filial, 
fear  of  the  Lord  that  is  presented  by  the  Scriptures  as 
a  source  of  blessing  and  power.  He  that  fears  the 
Lord  will  fear  nothing  else.  The  fear  of  the  Lord 
will  be  the  beginning  of  all  wisdom.  The  fear  of  the 
Lord  is  the  sure  way  to  the  enjoyment  of  God's 
favor  and  protection.'^ 

There  are  some  Christians  who  by  their  upbringing 
are  led  into  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  even  before  they 
come  to  faith.  This  is  a  very  great  blessing :  parents 
can  give  a  child  no  greater  blessing  than  to  bring 
him  up  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  When  those  who  are 
thus  brought  up  are  brought  to  faith,  they  have  a 
great  advantage :  they  are,  as  it  were,  prepared  to 
walk  in  the  joy  of  the  Lord.  When,  on  the  con- 
trary, others  that  have  not  this  preparation,  come  to 
conversion,  they  have  need  of  special  teaching  and 
vigilance,  in  order  to  pray  for  and  awaken  this  holy 
fear. 

The  elements  of  which  this  fear  is  composed  are 
many  and  glorious.    The  principal  are  the  following : 

There  are  holy  reverence  and  awe  before  the  glorious 
majesty  of  God  and  before  the  All  Holy.  These 
g^ard  against  the  superficiality  that  forgets  who  God 
is,  and  that  takes  no  pains  to  honor  Him  as  God.' 

^Ps.  xxxiii.  i8,  cxivii.  ii  ;  t^uke  xii.  4,  7 

'  Ps.  Ivi.  5,  12  ;  Prov.  %■  7,  ix.  lo,  x.  27,  xix.  33 ;  Acts  ix.  31 ;  3 
Cor.  vii.  I. 

3  Job  xlii.  6 ;  Ps.  v.  8  ;  Isa.  vi.  2,  5  ;  Hab.  ii.  20 :  Zech.  ii.  3. 

173 


The  New  Life. 


There  is  deep  humility  that  is  afraid  of  itself,  and 
couples  deep  confidence  in  God  with  an  entire  dis- 
trust in  itself.  Conscious  weakness  that  knows  the 
subtlety  of  its  own  heart  always  dreads  doing  any- 
thing contrary  to  the  will  or  honor  of  God.  But  just 
because  he  fears  God,  such  an  one  firmly  reckons  on 
Him  for  protection.  And  this  same  humility  inspires 
him  in  all  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow-men.' 

There  is  circumspectness  or  vigilance.  With  holy 
forethought,  it  seeks  to  know  the  right  path,  to  watch 
against  the  enemy,  and  to  be  guarded  against  all 
lightness  or  hastiness  in  speech,  resolve  and  con- 
duct.' 

And  there  are  also  in  it  holy  zeal  and  courage  in 
Watching  and  striving.  The  fear  of  displeasing  the 
Lord  by  not  conducting  one's  self  in  everything  as 
His  servant,  incites  to  being  faithful  in  that  which  is 
least.  The  fear  of  the  Lord  takes  ali  other  fear  away, 
and  gives  inconceivable  courage  in  the  certitude  of 
victory.' 

And  out  of  this  fear  is  then  bom  joy.  "  Rejoice 
with  trembling  : "  the  fear  of  the  Lord  gives  joy  its 
depth  and  stability.  Fear  is  the  root,  joy  the  fruit : 
the  deeper  the  fear,  the  higher  the  joy.  On  this  ac- 
count it  is  said :  "  Ye  that  fear  the  Lord  praise  Him ;  '* 
"  Ye  that  fear  the  Lord,  bless  the  Lord."  * 

Young  disciples  of  Christ,  hear  the  voice  of  your 
Father.     "  Fear  the  Lord,  ye  His  saints."     Let  deep 
1  Luke  xviii  2,  4 ;  Rom.  xi.  20 ;  i  Pet.  iiL  5. 
2Prov.  ii.  5,  II,  viii.  12,  13,  xiii.  33,  xvi.  6;  L,uke  i.  74. 
3Deut.  vi.  2 ;  Isa.  xii.  2. 
♦  Ps.  xxii.  24,  cxxxv.  20. 

174 


The  Fear  of  the  Lord. 

fear  of  the  Lord  and  dread  of  all  that  might  displease 
or  grieve  Him,  fill  you.  Then  shall  you  never  have 
any  evil  to  fear.  He  that  fears  the  Lord  and  seeks  to 
do  all  that  pleases  Him,  for  him  shall  God  also  do 
all  that  he  desires.  The  child-like  believing  fear  of 
God  will  lead  you  into  the  love  and  joy  of  God,  while 
slavish,  unbelieving,  cowardly  fear  is  utterly  cast 
out. 

O  my  God,  unite  my  heart  for  the  fear  of  Thy 
name.  May  I  always  be  amongst  those  that  fear  the 
Lord,  that  hope  in  His  mercy.     Amen. 

1.  What  are  some  of  the  blessings  of  the  fear  of  God?  (Ps. 
xxxi  20,  cxv  13,  cxxvii.  11,  cxlv.  19;  Prov.  i.,  vii.,  viii.,  xiii.,xiv., 
xxvii.  ;  Acts.  x.  35.) 

2.  What  are  the  reasons  why  we  are  to  fear  God?  (Deut,  x. 
17,  20,  21 ;  Josh.  iv.  24  ;  i  Sam.  xii.  24;  Jer.  v.  22,  x.  6,  7  ;  Matt.  x. 
28  ;  Rev.  XV.  4.) 

3.  It  is  especially  the  knowledge  of  God  in  His  greatness, 
power,  and  glory  that  will  fill  the  soul  with  fear.  But  for  this 
end,  we  must  set  ourselves  silent  before  Him,  and  take  time  for 
our  soul  to  come  under  the  impression  of  His  majesty. 

4.  "  He  delivered  me  from  all  my  fears."  Does  this  apply  to 
every  different  sort  of  fear  by  which  you  are  hindered  ?  There 
is  the  fear  of  man  (Isa.  li.  12,  13  ;  Heb.  xiii.  16)  ;  the  fear  of  heavy 
trial  (Isa.  xl.  i,  2)  ;  the  fear  of  our  own  weakness  (Isa.  xli.  10)  j 
fear  for  the  work  of  God  (i  Chron.  xxviii.  20) ;  the  fear  of  death 
(Ps.  xxiii.  4.) 

5.  Do  you  now  understand  the  word  :  "  Blessed  is  the  man 
that  fears  the  Lord.  His  heart  is  established,  he  shall  not  be 
afraid?" 


XXXVII. 

UNDIVIDED  CONSECRATION. 

"And  Ittai  answered,  As  the  Lord  liveth,  surely  in  wha 
place  my  lord  the  king  shall  be,  whether  for  death  or  for  life, 
even  there  also  will  thy  servant  be." — 2  Sam.  xv.  21. 

"  Whosoever  he  be  of  you  that  renounceth  not  all  that  he 
hath,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple." — I,uke  xiv.  33. 

"  Come  ye  out  from  among  them,  and  be  ye  separate,  saith 
the  Lord,  and  touch  no  unclean  thing  ;  and  I  will  receive  you, 
and  will  be  to  you  a  Father."— 2  Cor.  vi.  17,  18. 

"Yea  verily,  and  I  count  all  things  to  be  loss  for  Christ  Jesus 
my  lyord."— Phil.  iii.  8. 

WB  have  already  said  that  surrender  to  the  Lord 
is  something  that  for  the  Christian  always 
obtains  newer  and  deeper  significance.  When  this 
takes  place,  he  comes  to  understand  how  this  sur- 
render involves  nothing  less  than  a  complete  and 
undivided  consecration  to  live  only,  always,  wholly 
for  Jesus.  As  entirely  as  the  temple  was  dedicated  to 
the  service  of  God  alone,  so  that  every  one  knew  that 
it  existed  only  for  that  purpose;  as  entirely  as  the 
offering  on  the  altar  could  be  used  only  according  to 
the  command  of  God,  and  no  one  had  a  right  to  dis- 
pose of  one  portion  of  it  otherwise  than  God  had 
said :  so  entirely  do  you  belong  to  your  Lord,  and  so 
undivided  must  your  consecration  to  Him  be,  God 
continually  reminded  Israel  that  He  had  redeemed 
176 


Undivided  Consecration. 

them  to  be  His  possession.^  Let  us  see  what  this 
implies. 

There  is  personal  attachment  to  JesuSy  and  inter- 
course with  Him  in  secret.  He  will  be,  He  must  be, 
the  beloved,  the  desire,  the  joy  of  our  souls.  It  is 
not,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  service  of  God,  but  to 
Jesus  as  our  Friend  and  King,  our  Redeemer  and 
God,  that  we  are  to  be  consecrated.^  It  is  only  the 
spiritual  impulse  of  a  personal  cordial  love  that  can 
set  us  in  a  condition  for  a  life  of  complete  conse- 
cration. Continually  did  Jesus  use  the  words :  "  For 
My  sake,"  "  Follow  Me,"  *'  My  disciple : "  He  Himself 
must  be  the  central  point. ^  He  gave  Himself:  to 
desire  to  have  Him,  to  love,  to  depend  on  Him,  is  the 
characteristic  of  a  disciple. 

Then  there  is  public  confession.  "What  has  been 
given  to  any  one,  that  he  will  have  acknowledged  by 
all  as  his  property.  His  possessions  are  his  glory. 
When  the  Lord  Jesus  manifests  His  great  grace  to  a 
soul  in  redeeming  it.  He  desires  that  the  world  should 
see  and  know  it :  He  would  be  known  and  honored 
as  its  proprietor.  He  desires  that  every  one  that  be- 
longs to  Him  should  confess  Him,  and  that  it  should 
come  out  that  Jesus  is  King.*  Apart  from  this  pub- 
lic confession,  the  surrender  is  but  a  half-hearted 
one.  As  a  part  of  this  public  confession,  it  is  also 
required  that  we  should  join  His  people  and  acknow- 

1  Ex.  xix.  4,  5  ;  I^ev.  i.  8,  9;  Deut.  vii.  6  ;  Rom.  xii.  i ;    i  Cor.  HL 
16,  17. 
'John  xiv.  21,  XV.  14,  15,  xxi.  17  ;  Gal.  ii.  10. 
'Matt.  x.  32,  33,  37,  38,  40 ;  L,uke  xiv.  26,  27,  33,  xviii.  23. 
<Ex.  xxxiii.  16  ;  Josh.  xxiv.  15  ;  John  xiii.  35. 
12  177 


The  New  Life. 

ledge  them  as  our  people.  The  one  new  command- 
ment that  the  Lord  gave,  the  sure  token  by  which  all 
should  recognize  that  we  are  His  disciples,  is 
brotherly  love.  Although  the  children  of  God  in  a 
locality  are  few,  or  despised,  or  full  of  imperfection, 
yet  do  you  join  them.  Love  them  :  hold  intercourse 
with  them.  Attach  yourself  to  them  in  prayer  meet- 
ings and  otherwise.  Love  them  fervently  :  brotherly 
love  has  wonderful  power  to  open  the  heart  for  the 
love  and  the  indwelling  of  God.^ 

To  complete  consecration,  there  also  belongs  sepa- 
ration from  sin  and  the  world.  Touch  not  the  un- 
clean thing.  Know  that  the  world  is  under  the 
power  of  the  Evil  One.  Ask  not  how  much  of  it  you 
can  retain  without  being  lost.  Ask  not  always  what 
is  sin  and  what  is  lawful.  Even  of  that  which  is 
lawful,  the  Christian  must  oftentimes  make  a  willing 
renunciation,  in  order  to  be  able  to  live  wholly  for  his 
God.'  Abstinence  even  from  lawful  things  is  often 
indispensable  for  the  full  imitation  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

Live  as  one  who  is  really  separated  for  God  and  His 
holiness.  He  who  renounces everj'thing,  who  counts 
everything  loss  for  Jesus'  sake,  shall  even  in  this  life 
receive  an  hundredfold.^ 

And  what  I  separate  from  everything,  I  will  use, 
Entire  consecration  has  its  eye  upon  making  us  use- 
ful and  fit  for  God  and  His  service.     Let  there  not  be 

1  Ruth  i.  16  ;  John  xv.  12  ;  Rom.  xii.  5  ;   i  Cor.  xii.  20,  21  ;  Eph. 
iv.  14,  16  ;  I  Pet.  i.  22. 
'  I  Cor.  viii.  13,  ix.  25,  27,  x.  23  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  16,  17  ;  2  Tim.  if.  4. 
3  Gen.  xxii.  16,  17  ;    2  Chron.  xxv.  9  ;   lyUke  xviii.  29 ;  John  xii. 

24,  25  ;  Phil.  iii.  8. 


Undivided  Consecration. 

"with  you  the  least  doubt  as  to  whether  God  has  need 
of  you,  and  will  make  you  a  great  blessing.  Only 
give  yourself  unreservedly  into  His  hands.  Present 
yourself  to  Him,  that  He  may  fill  you  with  His  bless- 
ing, His  love,  His  Spirit :  you  shall  be  a  blessing,^ 

Let  no  one  fear  that  this  demand  for  a  complete 
consecration  is  too  high  for  him.  You  are  not  under 
the  law  which  demands,  but  gives  no  power.  You 
are  under  grace,  which  itself  works  what  it  requires.^ 
Like  the  first  surrender,  so  is  every  fresh  dedication 
yielded  to  this  Jesus  whom  the  Father  has  given  to  do 
all  things  for  you.  Consecration  is  a  deed  of  faith,  a 
part  of  the  glorious  life  of  faith.  It  is  on  this  account 
that  5^ou  have  to  say  :  It  is  not  I,  but  the  grace  of 
God  in  me,  that  will  do  it.  I  live  only  by  faith  in 
Him  who  works  in  me  as  well  the  willing  as  the  per- 
formance.' 

Blessed  Lord,  open  the  eyes  of  my  heart  that  I  may 
see  how  completely  Thou  wouldst  have  me  for  Thy- 
self. Be  Thou  in  the  hidden  depths  of  my  heart  the 
one  power  that  keeps  me  occupied,  and  holds  me  in 
possession.  Let  all  know  of  me  that  Thou  art  my 
King,  that  I  ask  only  for  Thy  will.  In  my  separa- 
tion from  the  world,  in  my  surrender  to  Thy  people 
and  to  Thy  will,  let  it  be  manifest  that  I  am  wholly, 
yea,  wholly,  the  Lord's.     Amen. 

I.  There  is  well-nigh  no  point  of  the  Christian  life  in  connec- 
tion with  which  I  should  more  desire  to  urge  you  to  pray  to  God 

^2  Tim.  ii.  21.  "^i  Cor.  ix.  8  ;  2  Thess.  i.  ii,  12. 

3 1  Cor.  XV.  10;  Gal.  ii.  20  ;  Phil.  ii.  13. 
179 


The  New  Life. 


that  He  may  enlighten  your  eyes,  than  this  of  the  entire  conse- 
cration that  God  desires.  In  myself  and  others,  I  discover  that 
vdth  our  own  thoughts  we  can  form  no  conception  how  com- 
pletely God  Himself  would  take  possession  of  our  will  and  live 
in  us.  The  Holy  Spirit  must  reveal  this  in  us.  Only  then  in- 
deed does  a  conviction  arise  of  how  little  we  understand  this. 
"We  are  not  to  think  :  I  see  truly  how  entirely  I  must  live  for 
God,  but  I  cannot  accomplish  this  :  no,  we  are  to  say  :  I  am  still 
blind,  I  have  still  no  view  of  what  is  the  glory  of  a  life  in  which 
God  is  all :  if  I  should  once  see  that,  I  would  strongly  desire  and 
believe  that,  not  I,  but  God,  should  work  it  in  me. 

2.  I,et  there  not  be  in  your  mind  the  least  doubt  as  to  whether 
you  have  given  yourself  to  God,  to  live  wholly  and  only  as  His. 
Express  this  conviction  often  before  Him.  Acknowledge  that 
you  do  not  yet  see  or  understand  what  it  means,  but  abide  by 
this,  that  you  desire  it  to  be  so.  Reckon  on  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
seal  you,  to  stamp  you  as  God's  entire  possession.  Even  if  you 
stumble  and  discover  self-will,  hold  fast  your  integrity,  and 
trustfully  aver  that  the  deep,  firm  choice  of  your  heart  is  in  all 
things,  in  all  things,  to  live  to  God. 

3.  Keep  always  before  your  eyes  that  the  power  to  give  all  to 
the  Ivord,  and  to  be  all  for  the  I^ord,  arises  from  the  fact  that  He 
has  given  all  for  you,  that  He  is  all  for  you.  Faith  in  what  He 
did  for  you  is  the  power  of  what  you  do  for  Him. 

180 


XXXVIII. 

ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

"  Ivooking  unto  the  promise  of  God,  Abraham  wavered  not 
through  unbelief,  but  waxed  strong  through  faith,  giving  glory 
to  God,  and  being  fully  assured  that,  what  He  had  promised,  He 
was  able  also  to  perform."— Rom.  iv.  20,  21. 

"  My  little  children,  let  us  not  love  in  word,  neither  with  the 
tongue  ;  but  in  deed  and  truth.  Hereby  shall  we  know  that  we 
are  of  the  truth,  and  shall  a.ssure  our  heart  before  Him."— i 
John  iii.  18,  19. 

"And  hereby  we  know  that  He  abideth  in  us,  by  the  Spirit 
which  He  gave  us."— i  John  iii.  24. 

EVERY  child  of  God  has  need  of  the  assurance  of 
faith  :  the  full  certitude  of  faith  that  the  Lord 
has  received  him  and  made  him  His  child.  The 
Holy  Scripture  always  speaks  to  Christians  as  those 
that  know  that  they  are  redeemed,  that  they  are  now 
children  of  God,  and  that  they  have  received  eternal 
life.^  How,  pray,  can  a  child  love  or  serve  his  father, 
while  he  is  uncertain  whether  his  father  will  really 
acknowledge  him  as  a  child?  We  have  already 
spoken  on  this  point  in  a  previous  chapter;  but 
oftentimes  by  ignorance  or  distrust  a  Christian  again 
comes  into  darkness  :  for  this  reason  we  will  now 
deal  with  it  once  again  of  set  purpose. 

Scripture  names  three  things  by  which  we  have  our 

I  Deut.  xxvi.  27,  28 ;  Isa.  xliv.  5  ;  Gal.  iv.  7  ;  i  John  v.  12. 
181 


The  New  Life. 

certitude  :  first,  faith  in  the  word;  after  that,  works; 
and  then,  in  and  with  both  of  these,  the  Holy 
Spirit, 

First,  faith  in  the  word.  Abraham  is  to  us  the 
great  exemplar  of  faith,  and  also  of  the  assurance  of 
faith.  And  what  then  says  the  Scripture  about  the 
certitude  that  he  had?  He  was  fully  assured  that 
what  God  had  promised  He  was  abie  aiso  to  perform. 
His  expectation  was  only  from  God.  and  what  God 
had  promised-  He  relied  uoon  God  to  do  what  He 
had  said :  the  promise  of  God  was  lor  liim  his  only 
but  sufficient  assurance  of  faith.^ 

There  are  many  young  Christians  who  think  that 
faith  in  the  word  is  not  sufficient  to  give  full  certi- 
tude :  they  would  fain  have  something  more.  They 
imagine  that  assurance,  a  sure  inward  feeling  or  con- 
viction, is  what  is  given  above  or  outside  of  faith. 
This  is  wrong.  As  I  have  need  of  nothing  more  than 
the  word  of  a  trustworthy  man  to  give  me  complete 
certitude,  so  must  the  word  of  God  be  my  certitude. 
People  err  because  they  seek  something  in  themselves 
and  in  their  feeling.  No  :  the  whole  of  salvation 
comes  from  God  :  the  soul  must  not  be  occupied  with 
itself  or  its  work,  but  with  God :  he  that  forgets 
himself  to  hear  what  God  says,  and  to  rely  upon  His 
promise  as  something  worthy  of  credit,  has  in  this 
fact  the  fullest  assurance  of  faith.'  He  does  not 
doubt  the  promises,  but  is  strong  in  faith,  giving  God 

'  John  iii.  33,  v.  24 ;  Acts  xxvii.  25  ;  Rom.  iv.  21,  22  ;  i  John  ▼. 
10,  II. 

,    *  Num.  xxiii.  19  ;  Ps.  Ixxxix.  35  ;  Isa.  liv.  9. 
182 


Assurance  of  Faith. 

the  glory,  and  being  fully  assured  that  what  was 
promised  God  is  also  able  to  perform. 

Then  the  Scripture  names  also  works  :  by  unfeigned 
love  we  shall  assure  our  hearts.^  Here  carefully  ob- 
serve this :  assurance  by  faith  in  the  promise,  without 
works,  comes  first.  The  godless  man  who  receives 
grace  knows  this  only  from  the  word.  But  then, 
later  on,  assurance  is  to  follow  from  works.  "  By 
works  was  faith  made  perfect. "  "^  The  tree  is  planted 
in  faith ;  without  fruits.  But  when  the  time  of  fruit 
arrives,  and  no  fruit  appears,  then  I  may  doubt.  The 
more  clearly  I  at  the  outset  hold  the  assurance  of 
faith,  without  works,  on  the  w^ord  alone,  the  more 
certainly  shall  works  follow. 

And  both^assurance  of  faith  and  by  works — come 
by  the  Spirit.  Not  by  the  word  alone,  and  not  by 
works  as  something  that  I  myself  do,  but  by  the 
word  as  the  instrument  of  the  Spirit,  and  by  works 
as  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  has  a  child  of  God  the 
heavenly  certification  that  he  the  Lord's.' 

O  let  us  believe  in  Jesus  as  our  life,  and  abide  in 
Him,  and  assurance  of  faith  shall  never  be  lacking 
to  us. 

O  my  Father,  teach  me  to  find  my  assurance  of 
faith  in  a  life  with  Thee,  in  cordial  reliance  upon 
Thy  promises,  and  in  cordial  obedience  to  Thy  com- 
mands. Let  Thy  Holy  Spirit  also  witness  with  my 
spirit  that  I  am  a  child  of  God.     Amen. 

J  I  John  iii.  i8,  19. 

'  John  XV.  10,  14  ;  Gal.  v.  6  ;  Jas.  ii.  22  ;  1  John  iii.  14.         ^ 

3  John  iv.  13  ;  Rom.  viii.  13,  14 ;  i  John  iii.  24 

183 


The  New  Life. 

1.  The  importance  of  the  assurance  of  faith  lies  in  the  fact, 
that  I  cannot  possibly  love  or  serve  as  a  child  of  God  of  whom  I 
do  not  know  whether  He  loves  and  acknowledges  me  as  His 
child. 

2.  The  whole  Bible  is  one  great  proof  for  the  assurance  of 
faith.  Just  because  it  thus  speaks  of  itself,  it  is  not  always 
named.  Abraham  and  Moses  knew  well  that  God  had  received 
them  :  otherwise  they  could  not  serve  or  trust  Him.  Israel 
knew  that  God  had  redeemed  them  :  for  this  reason  they  had  to 
serve  God.  How  much  more  must  this  be  the  case  in  the  greater 
redemption  of  the  New  Testament?  All  the  Epistles  are  written 
to  men  of  whom  it  is  presupposed  that  they  know  and  confess 
that  they  are  redeemed,  holy  children  of  God. 

3.  Faith  and  obedience  are  inseparable,  as  root  and  fruit. 
First,  there  must  be  the  root,  and  the  root  must  have  time 
without  fruits  ;  then  later  on  come  surely  the  fruits  :  first  assur- 
ance without  fruits  by  living  faith  in  the  word  ;  then,  further 
assurance  from  fruits.  It  is  in  a  life  with  Jesus  that  assurance 
of  faith  is  exalted  firmly  above  all  doubt. 

4.  Assurance  of  faith  is  much  helped  by  confession.  What  I 
express  becomes  for  me  more  evident ;  I  am  bound  and  con- 
firmed by  it. 

5.  It  is  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  looking  up  into  His  friendly  coun- 
tenance, listening  to  His  loving  promises,  it  is  in  intercourse 
with  Jesus  Himself  in  prayer,  that  all  doubtfulness  of  mind 
falls  away.    Go  thither  for  the  full  assurance  of  faith. 

184 


XXXIX 
CONFORMITY  TO  JESUS. 

"  Foreordained  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  His  Son."— 
Rom.  viii.  29. 

"  I  have  given  you  an  example,  that  ye  also  should  do  as  I 
have  done  to  you." — John  xiii.  15. 

THE  Bible  speaks  of  a  twofold  conformity,  a  two- 
fold likeness  that  we  bear.  We  may  be  con- 
formed to  the  world  or  to  Jesus.  The  one  excludes 
and  drives  out  the  other.  Conformity  to  Jesus,  where 
it  is  sought,  will  be  secretly  prevented  by  conformity 
to  the  world  more  than  anything  else.  And  con- 
formity to  the  world  can  be  overcome  by  nothing  but 
conformity  to  Jesus. 

Young  Christian,  the  new  life  of  which  you  have 
become  partaker  is  the  life  of  God  in  heaven.  In 
Christ  that  life  is  revealed  and  made  visible.  What 
the  workings  and  fruits  of  eternal  life  were  in  Jesus, 
they  shall  also  be  in  you  :  in  His  life  you  get  to  see 
what  eternal  life  will  work  in  you.  It  cannot  be 
otherwise  :  if  for  this  end  you  surrender  yourself  un- 
reservedly to  Jesus  and  the  dominion  of  eternal  life, 
it  will  bring  forth  in  you  a  walk  of  wonderful  con- 
formity to  that  of  Jesus. ^ 

^  Matt.  XX.  87,  a8  ;  Luke  vi.  40;  John  vi.  57  ;   i  John  ii.  6,  iv.  17. 

i8S 


The  New  Life. 

To  the  true  imitation  of  Jesus  in  His  example  and 
growth  in  inward  conformity  to  Him,  two  things 
especially  are  necessary.  These  are  a  clear  insight 
that  I  am  really  called  to  this,  and  a  firm  trust  that 
it  is  possible  for  me. 

One  of  the  greatest  hindrances  in  the  spiritual  life 
is  that  we  do  not  know,  that  we  do  not  see,  what 
God  desires  that  we  should  be.^  Our  understanding 
is  still  so  little  enlightened,  we  have  still  so  many  of 
our  own  human  thoughts  and  imaginations  about  the 
true  service  of  God,  we  know  so  little  of  waiting  for 
the  Spirit  who  alone  can  teach  us.  We  do  not 
acknowledge  that  even  the  clearest  words  of  God  do 
not  have  for  us  the  meaning  and  power  that  God 
desires.  And  so  long  as  we  do  not  spiritually  discern 
what  likeness  to  Jesus  is,  and  how  utterly  we  are 
called  to  live  like  Him,  there  can  be  but  little  said  of 
true  conformity.  Would  that  we  could  only  con- 
ceive our  need  of  a  special  heavenly  instruction  on 
this  point.'* 

Let  us  for  this  end  earnestly  examine  the  Scrip- 
tures in  order  to  know  what  God  says  and  desires 
about  our  conformity  to  Christ.^  Let  us  unceasingly 
ponder  such  words  of  Scripture,  and  keep  our  heart 
in  contact  with  them.  Let  it  remain  fixed  with  us 
that  we  have  given  ourselves  wholly  to  the  Lord,  to 
be  all  that  he  desires.  And  let  us  trustfully  pray  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  would  inwardly  enlighten  us  and 

'  Matt.  xxii.  19 ;  I,uke  xxiv.  16 ;  i  Cor.  iii.  i.  2  ;  Heb.  v.  11,  12. 
2  I  Cor.  ii.  12,  13  ;  Eph.  i.  17,  18. 

2  John  xiii.  15,  xv.  10,  12,  xvii.  18  ;  Kph-  v.  2  ;  Phil.  ii.  5  ;  CoL 
iii.  13. 

186 


Conformity  to  Jesus. 

bring  us  to  a  full  view  of  the  life  of  Jesus  so  far  as 
that  can  be  seen  in  a  believer.  ^  The  Spirit  will  con- 
vince us  that  we,  no  less  than  Jesus,  are  absolutely- 
called  to  live  only  for  the  will  and  glory  of  the 
Father  :  to  be  in  the  world  even  as  He  is. 

The  other  thinj  that  we  have  need  of  is  the  belief 
that  it  is  really  possible  for  us  with  some  measure  of 
exactness  to  bear  the  image  of  our  Lord.  Unbelief 
is  the  cause  of  impotence.  We  put  this  matter  other- 
wise. Because  we  are  powerless,  we  think  we  dare 
not  believe  that  we  can  be  conformed  to  our  Lord, 
l^kis  thought  is  in  conflict  with  the  word  of  God. 
We  do  not  have  it  in  our  own  power  to  carry  our- 
selves after  the  image  at  lesus.  No  :  He  is  our  head 
and  our  life.  He  dwells  in  us.  and  will  have  His  life 
work  from  within,  outwards,  vitk  ^ivir>e  power, 
through  the  Holy  Spirit.' 

Yet  this  cannot  be  apart  from  our  faith.  Faith  is 
the  consent  of  the  heart,  the  surrender  to  Him  to 
work,  the  reception  of  His  working.  "Be  it  unto 
you  according  to  your  faith,"  is  one  of  the  funda- 
mental laws  of  the  kingdom  of  God.^  It  is  something 
incredible  what  a  power  unbelief  has  to  hinder  the 
working  and  the  blessing  of  the  Almighty  God. 
The  Christian  who  would  be  partaker  of  conformity 
to  Christ  must  specially  cherish  the  firm  trust  that 
this  blessing  is  within  his  reach,  is  entirely  within 
the  range  of  possibility.     He  must  learn  to  look  to 

1  I  Cor.  xi.  1 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  i8 
*  John.  xiv.  23  ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  3  ;  Eph.  iii.  17,  18. 
'  Zech.  viii.  6  ;  Matt.  viii.  29  ;  Luke  i.  37,  45,  xviii.  27  ;  Gal.  ii.  20. 
187 


The  New  I^ife. 

Jesus  as  Him  to  whom  he  by  the  grace  of  God 
Almighty  can,  in  his  measure,  be  really  comformable. 
He  must  believe  that  the  same  Spirit  that  was  in 
Jesus  is  also  in  him ;  that  the  same  Father  that  led 
and  strengthened  Jesus  also  watches  over  him  ;  that 
the  same  Jesus  that  lived  on  earth  now  lives  in  him . 
He  must  cherish  the  strong  assurance  that  this  Three- 
One  God  is  at  work  in  changing  him  into  the  image 
of  the  Son.  1 

He  that  believes  this  shall  receive  it.  It  will  not 
be  without  much  prayer  :  it  will  require  especially 
converse,  ceaseless  intercourse  with  God  and  Jesus, 
Yet  he  that  desires  it  and  is  willing  to  give  time  and 
sacrifice  to  it,  certainly  receives  it. 


Son  of  God,  Effulgence  of  the  glory  of  God,  the 
very  image  of  His  substance,  I  must  be  changed  into 
Thine  image.  In  Thee  I  see  the  image  and  the  like- 
ness of  God  in  which  we  are  created,  in  which  we 
are  by  Thee  created  anew.  Lord  Jesus,  let  conformity 
to  Thee  be  the  one  desire,  the  one  hope  of  my  souL 
Amen. 

I.  Conformity  to  Jesus :  we  think  that  we  understand  fir" 
word  :  but  how  little  do  we  comprehend  that  God  really  expects 
we  should  live  even  as  Jesus.  It  requires  much  time  with  Him, 
in  prayer  and  pondering  of  his  example,  at  all  rightly  to  con- 
ceive it.  The  writer  of  these  precepts  has  written  a  book  on 
this  theme,  has  often  spoken  of  it,  and  yet  he  sometimes  feels 
as  if  he  must  cry  out :  Is  it  really  true  ?  Has  God  indeed  called 
us  to  live  even  as  Jesus  ? 

1  John  xiv.  19,  xvii.  19  ;  Rom.  viii.  2  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  18  ;  Eph.  i.  19, 20. 
188 


Conformity  to  Jesus. 


2.  "  I^ike  Jesus :  Thoughts  on  the  image  of  the  Son  of  God  and 
our  conformity  to  Him,"  is  the  title  of  a  book  which  the  various 
features  of  the  image  of  Jesus  and  the  sure  way  of  receiving 
them  are  set  forth. 

3.  Conformity  to  the  world  is  strengthened  especially  by  inter- 
course with  it :  it  is  in  intercourse  with  Jesus  that  we  shall 
adopt  His  mode  of  thinking,  His  disposition,  His  manners. 

4.  The  chief  feature  of  the  life  of  Jesus  in  this  :  He  surren- 
dered Himself  wholly  to  the  Father  in  behalf  of  men.  This  is 
the  chief  feature  of  conformity  to  Him  :  the  offering  up  of  our- 
selves to  God  for  the  redemption  and  blessing  of  the  lost. 

5.  The  chief  feature  of  His  inner  disposition  was— child-like- 
ness :  absolute  dependence  on  the  Father,  great  willingness  to 
be  taught,  cheerful  preparedness  to  do  the  will  of  the  Father. 
Be  specially  like  Him  in  this. 

189 


XL. 
CONFORMITY  TO  THE  WORLD. 

"  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  to  present  your  bodies  a  living  sac- 
rifice, holy,  acceptable  to  God.  And  be  not  fashioned  according 
to  this  world  :  but  be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your 
mind,  that  ye  may  prove  what  is  the  good  and  acceptable  and 
perfect  will  of  God."— Rom.  xii.  i,  2. 

BB  not  conformed  to  this  world.  But  what  is  con- 
formity to  the  world?  The  opposite  of  con- 
formity to  Jesus :  for  Jesus  and  the  world  stand 
directly  opposed  to  each  other.  The  world  crucified 
Him.  He  and  His  disciples  are  not  of  the  v/orld. 
The  spirit  of  this  world  and  the  Spirit  of  God  exclude 
each  other :  the  world  cannot  receive  the  Spirit  of 
God,  for  it  sees  Him  not  and  knows  Him  not.^ 

And  what  is  the  spirit  of  this  world  ?  The  spirit 
of  this  world  is  the  disposition  that  animates  man- 
kind in  their  natural  condition,  where  the  Spirit  of 
God  has  not  yet  renewed  them.  The  spirit  of  this 
world  comes  from  the  Evil  One,  who  is  the  prince  of 
this  world,  and  has  dominion  over  all  that  are  not 
renewed  by  the  Spirit  of  God.^ 

And  in  what  does  the  spirit  of  this  world,  or  con- 
formity to  it,  manifest  itself?  The  word  of  God  gives 

1  John  xiv.  17,  xvii.  14,  16  ;  i  Cor.  ii.  6,  8. 

2  John  xiv.  30.  xvi.  ri  ;  i  Cor.  ii.  12. 


Conformity  to  the  World. 

the  answer :  ' '  All  that  is  in  the  world,  the  lust  of  the 
flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  vainglory  of 
life,  is  not  of  the  Father,  but  is  of  the  world."  The 
craving  for  pleasure  or  the  desire  to  enjoy  the  world; 
the  craving  for  property,  or  the  desire  to  possess  the 
the  world  ;  the  craving  for  glory,  or  the  desire  to  be 
honored  in  the  world :  these  are  the  three  chief 
forms  of  the  spirit  of  the  world. ^ 

And  these  three  are  one  in  root  and  essence.  The 
spirit  of  this  world  is,  that  man  makes  himself  his 
own  end  :  he  makes  himself  the  central  point  of  the 
world :  all  creation,  so  far  as  he  has  power  over  it, 
must  serve  him  ;  he  seeks  his  life  in  the  visible. 
This  is  the  spirit  of  the  world  :  to  seek  one's  self  and 
the  visible.^  And  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  ;  to  live  not  for 
one's  self  and  not  for  the  visible,  but  for  God  and 
the  things  that  are  invisible.^ 

It  is  a  very  terrible  and  serious  thought  that  one 
can  carry  on  a  busy  fashionable  life,  free  from  mani- 
fest sin  or  unrighteousness,  and  yet  remain  in  the 
friendship  of  the  world,  and  thereby  in  enmity 
against  God.* 

Where  the  care  for  the  earthly,  fbr  what  we  eat 
and  what  we  should  drink,  for  what  we  possess  or 
may  still  get  into  possession,  for  what  we  can  have 
brought  forth  in  the  earth  and  made  to  increase,  is 
the  chief  element  in  our  life,  there  we  are  conformed 
to  this  world.  It  is  a  terrible  and  a  very  serious 
thought  that  one  can  maintain  to  all  appearance  a 

J I  John  ii.  15,  16.  '  John  V.  44. 

3  2  Cor.  iv.  18,  V.  7,  15.  *  Jas.  iv.  4. 

191 


The  New  Life. 

Christian  life  and  think  that  one  is  trusting  in  Christ, 
while  yet  one  is  living  with  the  worid  for  self  and  the 
visible.^  For  this  reason  the  command  comes  to  all 
Christians  with  great  emphasis  :  Be  conformed,  not  to 
this  worid,  but  to  Jesus. 

And  how  can  I,  for  this  end,  come  to  be  not  con- 
formed to  the  world  ?  Read  our  text  over  again  with 
consideration :  we  read  there  two  things.  Observe 
what  goes  before.  It  is  those  that  have  presented 
their  bodies  to  God  as  a  sacrifice  on  the  altar  that 
have  it  said  to  them  :  Be  not  conformed  to  the  world. 
Ofifer  yourself  to  God — that  is  conformity  to  Jesus ; 
live  every  day  as  one  that  is  ofifered  up  to  God,  cruci- 
fied in  Christ  to  the  world :  then  you  shall  not  be 
conformed  to  the  world.' 

Observe  also  what  follows :  Be  transformed  by  the 
renewing  of  your  mind,  that  ye  may  prove  what  is 
the  perfect  will  of  God.  There  must  be  a  continuous 
growing  renewal  of  our  mind.  This  takes  place  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  when  we  let  ourselves  be  led  by 
Him.  Then  we  learn  to  judge  spiritually  of  what  is 
according  to  the  will  of  God  and  what  is  according  to 
the  spirit  of  the  world.  A  Christian  who  strives  after 
the  progressive  renewal  of  his  whole  mind  shall  not 
be  conformed  to  the  world  :  the  Spirit  of  God  makes 
him  conformed  to  Jesus.' 

Christians,  pray,  do  believe  that  Jesus  has  obtained 
for  you  the  power  to  overcome  the  world,  with  its 

»  Matt.  vi.  32,  33. 
*  Gal.  vi.  14. 

«2  Cor.  vi.  14,  16;  Eph.  V.  17;  Heb.  v.  14. 
192 


Conformity  to  the  World. 

deep  hidden  seductions  to  living  for  ourselves.  Be- 
lieve this  :  believe  in  Him  as  Victor  :  and  you  also 
have  the  victory.^ 


Precious  Lord,  we  have  presented  ourselves  to  Thee 
as  living  sacrifices.  We  have  offered  up  ourselves  to 
God.  We  are  not  of  the  world,  even  as  Thou  art  not 
of  the  world.  Lord,  let  our  mind  be  enlightened  by 
the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  we  may  rightly 
see  what  the  spirit  of  this  world  is.  And  let  it  be 
seen  in  us  that  we  are  not  of  this  world,  but  are  con- 
formed to  Jesus.     Amen. 


1.  Worldly  pleasures.  Is  dancing  sin  ?  What  harm  is  there  in 
pla5dng  billiards  ?  Why  may  a  Christian  not  go  to  the  play  ? 
One  has  sometimes  wished  that  there  were  in  the  Scriptures  a 
distinct  law  to  forbid  such  things.  God  has  intentionally  not 
given  this.  If  there  were  such  a  law  it  would  make  men  only 
externally  pious.  God  would  put  each  one  upon  trial  whether 
his  inner  disposition  is  worldly  or  heavenly.  Pray,  learn  Rom. 
xii.  I,  2  by  heart,  and  ask  the  Spirit  of  God  to  make  it  living 
in  you.  The  Christian  who  offers  himself  up  to  God,  and  be- 
comes transformed  by  the  renewing  of  the  mind  to  prove  the 
perfect  will  of  God,  will  speedily  learn  whether  he  may  dance 
or  play  billiards.  The  Christian  who  is  afraid  only  of  hell,  bvrt 
not  of  conformity  to  the  world,  cannot  see  what  the  Spirit  of 
Cod  gives  His  children  to  see. 

a.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  trinity  of  the  god  of  this  world, 
in  John's  Epistle,  is  seen  as  well  in  the  temptation  in  Paradise 
as  in  that  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

•John  xvi.  33  ;  i  John  v.  4,  5. 


The  lust  of  the  flesh. 

The  woman  saw 
that  the  tree  was 
good  for  food. 

Command  that 
those  stones  become 
bread. 


The  New  Life. 

The  lust  of  the  eyes. 

And  that  it  was  a 
delight  to  the  eyes. 

The  devil  showeth 
Him  all  the  king- 
doms of  the  world. 


And  the  vainglory  of 
life. 

And  that  the  tree 
was  to  be  desired  to 
make  one  wise. 

Cast  Thyself 
down. 


3.  Consider  what  I  say  to  you  :  It  is  only  conformity  to  Jesus 
that  wiU  keep  out  conformity  to  the  world.    I<et  conformity  to 
Jesus  be  the  study,  the  endeavor  of  your  souL 
194 


XLI. 
THE  LORD'S  DAY. 

"  And  God  blesses  the  seventh  day,  and  hallowed  it ;  because 
that  in  it  He  rested  from  all  His  work  which  God  had  created." 
—Gen.  ii.  3. 

"  On  that  day,  the  first  day  of  the  week,  Jesus  came  and  stood 
in  the  midst,  and  saith  unto  them,  Peace  be  unto  you." — John 
XX.  19. 

"  I  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day."— Rev.  i.  10. 

MAN  abides  under  the  law  of  time.  He  must 
have  time  for  what  he  would  do  or  obtain .  In 
a  wonderful  way  God  gives  him  time  for  intercourse 
with  Himself.  One  day  in  seven  God  separated  for 
fellowship  with  Himself. 

The  great  object  of  God's  gift  of  this  day  is  said  to 
be,  that  it  may  serve  as  a  token  that  God  desires  to 
sanctify  man.^  Endeavor,  pray,  to  understand  well 
that  word  "holy  :"  it  is  one  of  the  most  important 
words  in  the  Bible.  God  is  the  Holy  One  :  that  alone 
is  holy  to  which  God  communicates  His  holiness  by 
revealing  Himself  thereby.  We  know  that  the  tem- 
ple was  holy,  because  God  dwelt  there.  God  had 
taken  possession  of  it.  He  gave  Himself  to  dwell 
there.  So  would  God  also  sanctify  man,  take  posses- 
sion of  him,  fill  him  with  Himself,  with  His  own 
life,  His  disposition,  His  holiness.      For  this  end, 

l^x.  xxxi.  13,  17  ;  Ezek.  xx.  12,  20. 


The  New  Life. 

God  took  possession  of  the  seventh  day,  appropriating 
it  to  Himself :  He  sanctified  it.  And  He  calls  man 
also  to  sanctify  it,  and  to  acknowledge  it  as  the 
Lord's  day,  the  day  of  the  Lord's  presence  and 
special  working.  He  that  does  this,  that  sanctifies 
this  day,  shall  as  God  has  promised,  be  sanctified  by 
Him.  (Read  with  attention  Ex.  xxxi.  12-17,  espe- 
cially ver.  13. ) 

God  blessed  the  seventh  day  by  sanctifying  it. 
The  blessing  of  God  is  the  power  of  life,  lodged  by 
Him  in  anything,  whereby  it  has  a  result  full  of 
blessing.  Grass,  and  cattle,  and  man  He  blessed 
with  power  to  multiply.^  And  so  He  lodged  in  the 
seventh  day  a  power  to  bless  :  the  promise  that  every 
one  that  sanctifies  this  day  shall  be  sanctified  and 
blessed  by  it.  We  must  accustom  ourselves  always  to 
think  of  the  Sabbath  as  a  blessed  day,  that  certainly 
brings  blessing.  The  blessing  bound  up  with  it  is 
very  great.^ 

There  is  still  a  third  word  that  is  used  of  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Sabbath :  "  God  rested  on  the  seventh 
day,"  and,  as  it  stands  in  Exodus,  "was  refreshed" 
or  gladdened.  God  would  sanctify  and  bless  us,  by 
introducing  us  into  His  rest.  He  would  bring  us  to 
see  that  we  are  not  to  burden  ourselves  with  our  cares 
and  weakness :  we  are  to  rest  in  Him,  in  His  finished 
work,  in  His  rest,  which  He  takes  because  all  is  in 
order.  This  rest  is  not  the  outward  cessation  of  em- 
ployments ;  no  :  it  is  the  rest  of  faith,  by  which  we 

1  Gen.  i.  22,  28,  xxii.  17. 
2lsa.  Ivi.  4-7,  Iviii.  13,  14. 
196 


The  lyord's  Day. 

cease  from  our  works  as  God  did  from  His,  because 
all  is  finished.  Into  this  rest  we  enter  by  faith  in  the 
finished  work  of  Jesus,  in  surrender  to  be  sanctified 
by  God.i 

Because  Jesus  finished  the  second  creation  in  His 
resurrection,  and  we,  by  the  power  of  His  resurrec- 
tion, enter  into  life  and  rest,  the  seventh  day  is 
changed  to  the  first  day  of  the  week.  There  is  no 
specific  statement  on  this  point :  under  the  New  Tes- 
tament, the  Spirit  takes  the  place  of  the  law.  The 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  led  His  disciples  to  the  celebration 
of  this  day.  It  was  the  day.  not  only  in  which  the 
Lord  was  raised,  but  also  on  which,  in  all  likelihood, 
the  Spirit  was  poured  out :  not  only  on  which  the 
Lord  manifested  Himself  during  the  forty  days,  but 
on  which  the  Spirit  also  specially  worked.^ 

The  chief  lessons  that  we  have  to  learn  about  this 
day  are  the  following : 

The  principal  aim  of  the  Sabbath  is  to  make  you 
holy,  as  God  is  holy.  God  would  have  you  holy : 
this  is  glory,  this  is  blessedness  :  this  is  His  blessing, 
this  His  rest.  God  would  have  you  holy,  filled  with 
Himself  and  His  holiness.' 

In  order  to  sanctify  you,  God  must  have  you  with 
Him,  in  His  presence  and  fellowship.  You  are  to 
come  away  from  all  your  struggling  and  working  to 
rest  with  Him :  to  rest  quietly,  without  exertion  or  an- 
xiety, in  the  certitude  that  the  Son  has  finished  every- 

I  Heb.  iv.  3,  lo. 

'John  XX.  I,  19,  26  ;  Acts  i.  8,  xx.  7  ;  i  Cor.  xvi.  2  ;  Rev.  i  za 
8Ex.  xxix.  43,  45  •  Ezek.  xxxvii.  27,  28;  i  Pet.  i.  15,  16. 
197 


The  New  Life. 

thing,  that  the  Father  cares  for  you  in  everything, 
that  the  Spirit  will  work  everything  in  you.  In  the  holy 
rest  of  a  soul  that  is  converted  to  God,  that  is  silent 
towards  God,  that  remains  silent  before  His  presence 
to  hear  what  God  speaks  in  him,  that  reckons  upon 
God  to  achieve  all,  God  can  reveal  Himself.^  It  is 
thus  that  He  sanctifies  us. 

We  sanctify  the  day  of  rest,  first  by  withdrawal 
from  all  external  business  and  distraction  ;  but  then 
especially  by  employing  it  as  God's  day,  belonging  to 
the  Lord,  for  what  He  destined  it,  fellowship  with 
Himself. 

Take  heed,  on  the  other  hand,  that  you  do  not  use 
the  day  of  rest  only  as  a  day  for  the  public  observance 
of  divine  worship.  It  is  especially  in  private  personal 
intercourse  that  God  can  bless  and  sanctify  you.  In 
the  church,  the  understanding  is  kept  active,  and  you 
have  the  ordinances  of  preaching,  united  prayer  and 
praise,  to  keep  you  occupied.  But  we  do  not  there 
always  know  whether  the  heart  is  really  dealing  with 
God,  is  taking  delight  in  Him.  This  takes  place  in 
solitude.  O,  accustom  yourself,  then,  to  be  alone 
with  the  Lord  your  God.  Not  only  speak  to  Him  : 
let  Him  speak  to  you  :  let  your  heart  be  the  temple 
in  whose  holy  silence  His  voice  is  heard.  Rest  in 
God  :  then  will  God  say  of  your  heart :  This  is  my 
rest,  here  will  I  dwell.' 

Young  Christian,  set  great  store  by  the  holy,  the 
blessed  day  of  rest.     Long  for  it.    Thank  God  for  it. 

1  Ps.  Ixii.  2,  6  ;  Hab.  ii.  20  ;  Zech.  ii.  13  ;  John  xix.  30. 
*  Ps.  cxxxii.  13,  14. 

198 


The  Ivord's  Day. 

Keep  it  very  holy.  And,  above  all,  let  it  be  a  day  of 
inner  fellowship  with  your  God,  of  a  living  converse 
with  His  love. 


Holy  God,  I  thank  Thee  for  the  holy  day  which 
Thou  givest  me  as  a  token  that  Thou  wilt  sanctify 
me.  Lord  God,  it  is  Thou  who  didst  sanctify  the  day 
by  taking  it  for  Thyself  :  sanctify  me  in  like  manner 
by  taking  me  for  Thyself.  Teach  me  so  to  enter  into 
Thy  rest,  so  to  find  my  rest  in  Thy  love,  that  my 
whole  soul  shall  be  silent  before  Thee,  in  order  that 
Thou  mayest  make  Thyself  and  Thy  love  known  in 
me.  And  let  every  Sabbath  be  to  me  a  foretaste  of 
the  eternal  rest  with  Thee.     Amen. 

1.  The  Sabbath  was  the  first  of  all  the  means  of  grace,  insti- 
tuted even  before  the  Fall.  You  cannot  set  too  high  a  value 
upon  it. 

2.  Observe  how  specially  the  Three-One  God  has  revealed 
Himself  upon  the  day  of  rest.  The  Father  rested  on  this  day. 
The  Son  rose  from  the  dead  upon  it.  The  Spirit  sanctified  this 
day  by  His  special  workings.  You  may  on  this  day  expect  the 
fellowship  and  the  powerful  workings  of  the  Three-One. 

3.  What  is  meant  by  the  word  "  holy?  "  Of  what  is  the  day 
of  rest  a  token,  according  to  Ex.  xxxi.  13?  How  did  God  sanc- 
tify the  day  of  rest  ?    How  does  He  sanctify  us  ? 

4.  There  are  in  this  country  peculiar  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
the  quiet  celebration  of  the  day  of  rest  in  a  village,  where  the 
church  is  often  very  full.  Yet  one  can  lay  aside  that  which  is 
unnecessary  and  receive  the  influx  of  company.  We  can  fix  an 
hour  in  which  there  shall  be  reading  and  singing. 

5.  It  is  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  bring  up  children 
aright,  for  the  sanctification  of  the  Sabbath  day,  by  avoiding 
worldly  society  and  conversation,  by  accustoming  them  to  read 
something  that  may  be  useful  for  them.    For  the  younger  chil- 

199 


The  New  Life. 

dren,  there  should  be  in  every  place  a  Sabbath  school.  For  the 
older  children,  it  would  be  well  to  come  together  in  connection 
with  such  a  book  as  this,  every  one  with  a  Bible,  and  to  review 
texts. 

6.  There  is  no  better  day  than  the  L,ord's  day  for  doing  good 
to  body  and  soul.  I,et  the  works  of  Satan  on  this  day  come  to 
an  end,  and  work  for  the  heathen  and  the  ignorant  be  carried 
forward. 

7.  The  principal  point  is  this :  the  day  of  rest  is  the  day  of 
God's  rest,  of  rest  in  and  with  God,  and  of  intercourse  with 
Him.  It  is  God  that  will  sanctify  us.  He  does  this  by  taking 
possession  of  us. 

200 


xui. 

HOLY  BAPTISM. 

*'  Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  disciples  *  of  all  the  nations, 
baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost :  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatso- 
ever I  commanded  you." — Matt,  xxviii.  19. 

'•He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved."— Mark 
xvi.  16. 

IN  these  words  of  the  institution  of  baptism,  we 
find  its  meaning  comprehended  as  in  a  summary. 
The  word  "teach"  means:  "make  disciples  of  all 
the  nations,  baptizing  them."  The  believing  disci- 
ple, as  he  is  baptized  in  the  water,  is  also  to  be  bap- 
tized or  introduced  into  the  name  of  the  Three-One 
God.  By  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  new  birth  and 
life  as  a  child  in  the  love  of  the  Father  are  secured  to 
him  :  ^  by  the  name  of  the  Son,  participation  in  the 
forgiveness  of  sins  and  the  life  that  is  in  Christ :  "^  by 
the  name  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  indwelling  and  pro- 
gressive renewal  of  the  Spirit.'  And  every  baptized 
believer  must  always  look  upon  baptism  as  his  en- 
trance into  a  covenant  with  the  Three-One  God,  and 

1  Gal.  iii.  26,  27,  iv.  6,  7. 
*Col.  ii.  12. 
»Tit.  ii.  5,  6. 

*  The  Dutch  version,  like  our  Authorized,  has  "  teach  "  here. 
201 


The  New  Life. 

as  a  pledge  that  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Spirit 
will  in  course  of  time  do  for  him  all  that  they  have 
promised.  It  requires  a  life-long  study  to  know  and 
enjoy  all  the  blessing  that  is  presented  in  baptism. 

In  other  passages  of  Scripture  the  thrice  twofold 
blessing  is  again  set  forth  separately  :  thus  we  find 
bound  up  with  it  the  new  birth  required  to  make  a 
child  of  God.  "  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and 
the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God."  The  baptized  disciple  has  in  God  a  Father, 
and  he  has  to  live  as  a  child  in  the  love  of  this 
Father.i 

Then,  again,  baptism  is  brought  more  directly  into 
connection  with  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ. 
Consequently,  the  first  and  simplest  representation 
of  it  is  the  forgiveness  or  washing  away  of  sins. 
Forgiveness  is  always  the  gateway  or  entrance  into 
all  blessing :  hence  baptism  is  also  the  sacrament  of 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  life ;  but  of  a  begin- 
ning that  is  maintained  through  the  whole  life.  It 
is  on  this  account  that  in  Rom.  vi.  baptism  is  repre- 
sented as  the  secret  of  the  whole  of  sanctification, 
the  entrance  into  a  life  in  union  with  Jesus.  "  Or  are 
ye  ignorant  that  all  we  who  were  baptized  into  Christ 
Jesus  were  baptized  into  His  death?"  And  then 
follows  in  vers.  4-1 1,  the  more  precise  explanation 
of  what  it  is  to  be  baptized  into  the  death  of  Jesus, 
and  to  arise  out  of  this  with  Him  for  a  new  life  in 
Him.  This  is  elsewhere  very  powerfully  compre- 
hended in  this  one  word  :  "As  many  of  you  as  were 

1  John  iii,  3,  5. 
202 


Holy  Baptism, 

baptized  into  Christ  did  put  on  Christ."  This  alone 
is  the  right  life  of  a  baptized  disciple  :  he  has  put  on 
Christ.^  As  one  is  plunged  into  water  and  passes 
under  it,  so  is  the  believing  confessor  baptized  into 
the  death  of  Christ,  in  order  then  to  live  and  walk 
clothed  with  the  new  life  of  Christ. 

And  there  are  other  passages  where  again  there  is 
connected  with  baptism  the  promise  of  the  Spirit, 
not  only  as  the  Spirit  of  regeneration,  but  as  the  gift 
bestowed  from  heaven  upon  believers  for  indwelling 
and  sealing,  for  progressive  renewal.  "  He  saved  us 
through  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  renewing 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  He  poured  out  upon  us 
richly,"  Renewal  is  here  the  activity  of  the  Spirit, 
whereby  the  new  life  that  is  planted  in  the  new  birth 
penetrates  our  whole  being,  so  that  all  our  thinking 
and  doing  is  sanctified  by  Him.' 

And  all  this  rich  blessing  which  lies  in  baptism  is 
received  by  faith.  "  He  that  believeth,  and  is  bap- 
tized, shall  be  saved."  Baptism  was  not  only  a  con- 
fession on  man's  part  of  the  faith  that  he  who  would 
be  a  disciple  already  had,  but  equally  on  God's  part 
a  seal  for  the  confirmation  of  faith,  a  covenant  token 
in  which  the  whole  treasury  of  grace  lay  open,  to  be 
enjoyed  throughout  life.  As  often  as  a  baptized  be- 
liever sees  a  baptism  administered,  or  reflects  upon 
it,  it  is  to  be  to  him  an  encouragement  to  press  by  an 
over-growing  faith  into  the  full  life  of  salvation  that 
the  Three-One  desires  to  work  in  him.     The  Holy 

1  Rom.  vi.  3,  4  ;  Gal.  Hi.  27  ;  Col.  ii.  12. 

•Rom.  xii.  2  ;  Eph.  iv.  23  ;  Tit.  ii.  5,  6. 

203 


The  New  Life. 

Spirit  is  given  to  appropriate  witliin  us  all  the  love 
of  the  Father  and  all  the  grace  of  the  Son.  The  be- 
lieving candidate  for  baptism  is  baptized  into  the 
death  of  Christ,  has  put  on  Christ:  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  in  him  to  give  him  all  this  as  his  daily  experience.* 


Lord  God,  make  Thy  holy  baptism  always  opera- 
tive in  my  soul  as  the  experience  that  I  am  baptized 
into  the  death  of  Christ.  And  let  Thy  people  every- 
where understand  by  Thy  Spirit  what  rich  blessing 
lies  thrown  open  in  the  baptism  of  their  children. 
Amen. 

And  what  are  we  now  to  think  of  Infant  Baptism  ?  With  the 
assurance  that  those  who  cleave  only  to  God's  word,  namely, 
the  Baptists,  will  say  to  us  :  You  cannot  adduce  a  single  passage 
in  Scripture  where  the  baptism  of  little  children  is  spoken  of. 

Our  answer  is  that  this  is  thoroughly  taught  us  in  Scripture, 
not  indeed  by  separate  texts,  but  by  its  whole  tenor.  The  rea- 
son why  the  Lord  Jesus  did  not  name  children  specially,  was  that 
this  was  altogether  unnecessary.  From  the  time  of  Abraham 
onwards  God  had  engrained  it  in  His  people,  that  in  His  cove- 
nant He  always  reckoned  parents  and  children  together.  He 
deals,  not  with  separate  individuals  alone,  but  with  households  : 
the  faith  of  a  father  held  good  for  the  child,  so  long  as  the  child 
did  not  violate  the  covenant. 

a.  In  Abraham,  Isaac  obtained  part ;  in  every  father  amongst 
the  people  of  Israel  his  child  obtained  part  in  the  covenant 
blessing,  and  therefore  in  the  covenant  token.  "  I  will  estab- 
lish My  covenant  between  Me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee, 
to  be  a  God  unto  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee."     (Gen.  xvii.  7.) 

b.  Even  so  in  connection  with  the  Passover,  it  was  ordained 
that,  when  a  stranger  would  join  the  people,  all  his  males  should 
be  circumcised.     (Kx.  xii.  48.)    Up  to  the  time  of  Christ  it  was 

>  Eph.  iv.  14,  15 ;  Col.  ii.  6. 
204 


Holy  Baptism. 


•unquestionably  the  case  that,  when  any  one  belonged  to  the 
people  of  God  or  desired  to  become  attached  to  them,  his  little 
children  were  received  along  with  him.  If  the  L,ord  had  de- 
sired to  change  this,  a  very  express  injunction  was  needed  for 
the  purpose. 

c.  How  expressly  did  the  I,ord  Jesus  declare  of  children  :  "  Of 
such  is  the  kingdom  of  God."  And  under  the  kingdom  should 
he  not  have  as  a  Christian  the  privilege  that  he  had  as  a  Jew? 
Yes  :  the  covenant  of  Abraham  is  still  confirmed  from  child  to 
child. 

d.  The  answer  of  Paul  to  the  gaol-keeper  confirms  the  con- 
tinuance of  what  God  had  instituted  :  "  Believe  in  the  L,ord  Jesus 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved,  and  thy  house."  Although  there  were 
no  children  in  that  house,  this  promise  confirms  the  principle 
that  God  deals,  not  merely  with  individuals,  but  with  house- 
holds. 

e.  "Therefore  are  your  children  holy."  Since  the  child  itself 
is  holy,  it  has  of  itself  a  right  to  the  holy  token  of  the  covenant. 

205 


XLIII. 

THE  IvORD'S  SUPPER. 

"The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless,  is  it  not  a  communion  of 
the  blood  of  Christ  ?  The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not  a 
communion  of  the  body  of  Christ?" — i  Cor.  x.  i6. 

''  He  that  eateth  My  flesh  and  drinketh  My  blood  abideth  in 
Me,  and  I  in  him.  He  that  eateth  Me,  he  also  shall  live  because 
of  Me."— John  vi.  56,  57. 

Alvlv  life  has  need  of  food :  it  is  sustained  by 
nourishment  which  it  takes  in  from  without. 
The  heavenly  life  must  have  heavenly  food ;  nothing 
less  than  Jesus  Himself  is  the  bread  of  life :  "  He 
that  eateth  Me  shall  live  by  Me."  ^ 

This  heavenly  food,  Jesus,  is  brought  near  to  us 
in  two  of  the  means  of  grace,  the  word  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  The  word  comes  to  present  Jesus  to 
us  from  the  side  of  the  intellectual  life,  by  our 
thoughts.  The  Lord's  Supper  comes  in  like  manner 
to  present  Jesus  to  us  from  the  side  of  the  emotional 
life,  by  the  physical  senses.  Man  has  a  double 
nature  :  he  has  spirit  and  body.  Redemption  begins 
with  the  spirit,  but  it  would  also  penetrate  to  the 
body.*  Redemption  is  not  complete  until  this  mor- 
tal body  also  shall  share  in  glory.     The  Supper  is 

'  Ps.  xlii.  3  ;  Matt.  iv.  4 ;  John  vi.  51. 
SRom.  viii.  23  ;  i  Cor.  vi.  13,  15,  19,  20 ;  Phil.  iii.  21. 
206 


The  Lord's  Supper. 

the  pledge  that  the  Lord  will  also  change  our  body 
of  humiliation  and  make  it  like  His  own  glorified 
body  by  the  working  whereby  He  subdues  all  things 
to  Himself.  It  is  not  simply  because  all  that  is  cor- 
poreal is  more  clear  and  intelligible  for  us,  that  the 
Lord  gives  Himself  in  the  bread  of  the  Supper.  No  : 
by  the  body,  Scripture  often  understands  the  whole 
man.  In  the  Supper,  Christ  would  take  possession 
of  the  whole  man,  body  and  soul,  to  renew  and  sanc- 
tify it  by  the  power  of  His  holy  body  and  blood. 
Bven  His  body  shares  in  His  glory :  even  His  body 
is  communicated  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Bven  our  body 
is  fed  with  His  holy  body,  and  renewed  by  the  work- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit.^ 

This  feeding  with  the  body  of  Christ  takes  place, 
on  the  side  of  the  Lord  by  the  Spirit,  on  our  side 
by  faith.  On  the  side  of  the  Lord  by  the  Spirit : 
for  the  Spirit  communicates  to  us  the  power  of  the 
glorified  body,  whereby  even  our  bodies,  accord- 
ing to  Scripture,  become  members  of  His  body.^ 
The  Spirit  gives  us  to  drink  of  the  life-power  of 
His  blood,  so  that  that  blood  becomes  the  life 
and  the  joy  of  our  soul.  The  bread  is  a  participa- 
tion in  the  body:  the  cup  is  a  participation  in  the 
blood. 

And  this  takes  place  on  our  side  by  faith :  a 
faith  that,  above  what  can  be  seen  or  understood, 
reckons  on  the  wonder-working  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  unite  us  really,  alike  in   soul  and  body. 

1  Matt.  xxvi.  26  ;  John  vi.  54,  55  ;  Rom.  viii.  11,  13. 
•i  Cor.  vi.  15,  17,  xii.  13  ;  Eph.  v.  23,  30. 
207 


The  New  Life. 

with  our  Lord,  by  communicating  Him  inwardly 
to  us.^ 

This  is  what  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  intends  in 
Question  and  Answer  76. 

"  What  is  it  to  eat  the  glorified  body  of  Christ  and 
to  drink  His  shed  blood  ?" 

"  It  is  not  only  to  receive  with  a  believing  heart  the 
whole  sufi"ering  and  dying  of  Christ,  and  thereby  to 
obtain  forgiveness  of  sins  and  eternal  life,  but  also 
therewith,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  dwells  alike  in 
Christ  and  in  us,  to  be  so  united  more  and  more  with 
His  blessed  body,  that  we,  although  He  is  in  heaven 
and  we  are  upon  earth,  are  nevertheless  flesh  of  His 
flesh  and  bone  of  His  bone,  and  so  live  and  are  gov- 
erned eternally  by  one  Spirit,  as  the  members  of  our 
body  by  a  soul."  * 

This  deeply  inward  union  with  Jesus,  even  with 
His  body  and  blood,  is  the  great  aim  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  All  that  it  teaches  and  gives  us  of  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,  of  the  remembrance  of  Jesus,  of  the 
confirmation  of  the  divine  covenant,  of  union  with 
one  another,  of  the  announcement  of  the  Lord's 
death  till  He  comes,  must  lead  to  this :  complete 
oneness  with  Jesus  through  the  Spirit.^  "He  that 
eateth  My  flesh  and  drinketh  My  blood  abideth  in 
Me,  and  I  in  him.  He  that  eateth  Me,  he  shall  live 
by  Me.' 

1  lyuke  i.  37 ;  i  Cor,  ii.  9,  12. 

2  Matt.  XX vi.  28  ;  Luke  xxii.  19  ;  John  vi.  56,  xv.  4  ;  i  Cor.  x.  17, 
xi.  26  ;  Rev.  iii.  20. 

*  "  Der  Heidelbergische  Catechismus, "  §  28,  v.  76. 
208 


The  Ivord's  Supper. 

It  is  readily  understood  that  the  blessing  of  the 
Supper  depends  very  much  on  preparation  within 
the  inner  chamber,  on  the  hunger  and  thirst  with 
which  one  longs  for  the  living  God.^  Do  not  imag- 
ine, however,  that  the  Supper  is  nothing  but  an  em- 
blematic token  of  what  we  already  have  by  faith  in 
the  word.  No  :  it  is  a  spiritual  actual  communica- 
tion from  the  exalted  Lord  in  heaven  of  the  powers 
of  His  life :  yet  this,  only  according  to  the  measure 
of  desire  and  faith.  Prepare  for  the  Lord's  Suppe-^, 
therefore,  and  very  earnest  separation  and  prayer. 
And  then  expect  that  the  Lord  will,  with  His  heav- 
enly power,  in  a  way  to  you  incomprehensible,  yet 
sure,  renew  yotir  life. 


Blessed  Lord,  who  didst  institute  the  Supper  in 
order  to  communicate  Thyself  to  Thy  redeemed  as 
their  food  and  their  power  of  life,  O  teach  us  to  use 
the  Supper,  Teach  us  at  every  opportunity  to  eat 
and  to  drink  with  great  hunger  and  thirst  for  Thy- 
self and  for  full  union  with  Thee,  believing  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  feeds  us  with  Thy  body  and  gives  us  to 
drink  of  Thy  blood.     Amen. 

I.  In  connection  with  the  Supper  let  us  be  especially  on  our 
guard  against  the  idea  of  a  mere  divine  service  of  the  congre- 
gation or  transitory  emotion.  Preaching  and  addresses  xuay 
make  an  edifying  impression,  while  there  is  little  power  or 
blessing. 

».  For  a  meal,  the  first  requisite  is  hunger.  A  strong  hunger 
and  thirst  for  God  is  indispensable. 

1  Job  xi.  13  ;  Isa.  Iv.  i,  3  ;  Matt.  v.  6  ;  I,ulcc  i.  -3  ;  i  Cor.  xi.  8. 
14  209 


"^he  New  Life. 


3.  In  the  Supper,  Jesus  desires  to  give  Himself  to  us,  and 
would  have  us  g^ve  ourselves  to  Him.  These  are  great  and  holy 
things. 

4.  The  lessons  of  the  Supper  are  many.  It  is  a  feast  of  remem- 
brance ;  a  feast  of  reconciliation  ;  a  covenant  feast ;  a  love  feast ; 
a  feast  of  hope.  But  all  these  separate  thoughts  are  only  sub- 
ordinate parts  of  the  principal  element :  the  living  Jesus  would 
give  Himself  to  us  in  the  most  inward  union.  The  Son  of  God 
would  descend  into  our  inmost  parts  ;  He  would  come  in  to 
celebrate  the  Supper  with  us.  "  He  that  eateth  My  flesh  and 
drinketh  My  blood,  let  him  abide  in  Me,  and  I  in  him." 

5.  And  then  union  with  Jesus  is  union  vnth  His  people  in  love 
and  sympathy. 

6.  The  preparatory  address  is  not  itself  the  preparation  :  it  is 
only  a  help  to  the  private  preparation  which  one  must  have  in 
intercourse  with  Jesus. 

7.  To  hold  festival  with  God  at  His  table  is  something  of  un- 
speakable importance.  Pray,  do  not  suppose  that,  because  you 
are  a  Christian,  it  is  easy  for  you  to  go  and  sit  down.  No  :  be- 
take yourself  to  solitude  with  Jesus,  that  He  may  speak  to  you 
and  say  how  you  are  to  prepare  your  heart  to  eat  with  Him, 
yea,  with  Himself 

It  is  very  useful  to  take  the  whole  week  before  the  Supper  fcr 
preparation  and  the  whole  week  after  for  reflection.  You  will 
find  help  for  this  in  the  book,  ' '  The  Table  of  the  I,ord  ;  a  help 
to  the  right  celebration  of  the  Holy  Supper"  (J.  H.  Rose,  Cape 
Town). 

210 


XI.IV. 
OBEDIENCE. 

"  Now  therefore,  if  ye  will  obey  My  voice  indeed,  ye  shall  be  a 
peculiar  treasure  unto  Me  from  among  all  peoples." — Ex.  xix.  s 

"  The  lord  will  surely  bless  thee,  if  thou  only  diligently 
hearken  unto  the  voice  of  the  I,ord  thy  God."— Deut.  xv.  4,  5. 

"  By  faith  Abraham  obeyed."— Heb.  xi.  8. 

"  He  learned  obedience  by  the  things  which  He  suffered  ;  and 
having  been  made  perfect.  He  became  unto  all  them  that  obey 
Him  the  author  of  eternal  salvation."— Heb.  v.  8,  9. 

OBEDIENCE  is  one  of  the  most  important  words 
in  the  Bible  and  in  the  life  of  the  Christian. 
It  was  in  the  way  of  disobedience  that  man  lost  the 
favor  and  the  life  of  God  :  it  is  only  in  the  way  of 
obedience  that  that  favor  and  that  life  can  again  be 
enjoyed.'  God  cannot  possibly  take  pleasure  in  those 
who  are  not  obedient,  or  bestow  His  blessing  upon 
them.  "If  ye  will  obey  My  voice  indeed,  ye  shall 
be  a  peculiar  treasure  unto  Me;"  "The  Lord  will 
surely  bless  thee,  if  thou  only  diligently  hearken 
unto  the  voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God."  These  are  the 
eternal  principles  according  to  which  alone  man  can 
enjoy  God's  favor  and  blessing. 

We  see  this  in  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  says :  ' '  If  ye 
keep  My  commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in  My  love ; 

1  Rom.  V.  19,  vi.  16  ;  1  Pet.  i.  2,  14,  22. 
211 


The  New  Life. 

even  as  I  have  kept  my  Father's  commandments, 
and  abide  in  His  love."  He  was  in  the  love  of  the 
Father,  but  could  not  abide  there  otherwise  than  by 
obedience.  And  He  says  that  this  is  equally  for  us 
the  one  way  to  abide  in  His  love  :  we  must  keep  His 
commandments.  He  came  to  open  for  us  the  way 
back  to  God :  this  way  was  the  way  of  obedience : 
only  he  that  through  faith  in  Jesus  walks  in  this  way 
shall  come  to  God.i 

How  gloriously  is  this  connection  betwixt  the  obe- 
dience of  Jesus  and  our  own,  expressed  in  Heb.  v.  : 
"  He  learned  obedience,  and  became  unto  all  them 
that  obey  Him  the  author  of  eternal  salvation." 
This  is  the  bond  of  unity  between  Jesus  and  His  peo- 
ple, the  point  of  conformity  and  inward  unanimity. 
He  was  obedient  to  the  Father :  they,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  obedient  to  Him.  He  and  they  are  both 
obedient.  His  obedience  not  only  atones  for,  but 
drives  out  their  disobedience.  He  and  they  bear  one 
token  :  obedience  to  God.  ^ 

This  obedience  is  a  characteristic  of  the  life  of 
faith.  It  is  called  the  obedience  of  faith.'  There  is 
nothing  in  earthly  things  that  so  spurs  on  men  to 
work  as  faith  :  the  belief  that  there  is  advantage  or 
joy  to  be  found  is  the  secret  of  all  work.  "By  faith 
Abraham,  when  he  was  called,  obeyed : ' '  according 
to  what  I  believe  shall  my  works  be.  The  faith  that 
Jesus  made  me  free  from  the  power  of  sin  for  obedi- 

1  Gen.  xxii.  17, 18,  xxvi.  4,  5  ;  i  Sam.  xv.  22  :  John  xv.  10. 
*Rom.  vi.  17;  2  Cor.  x.  5  ;  Phil,  ii  8. 
'Acts  vi.  7 ;  Rom.  i.  5,  xvi.  26. 

212 


Obedience. 

ence  and  sets  me  in  a  suitable  condition  for  it,  has  a 
mighty  power  to  make  me  obedient.  Faith  in  the 
overflowing  blessing  which  the  Father  gives  to  it, 
faith  in  the  promises  of  the  love  and  indwelling  of 
God,  of  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit  which  comes  by  this 
channel,  strengthens  for  obedience.^ 

The  power  of  this  faith,  again,  as  also  of  obedience, 
lies  especially  in  intercourse  with  the  living  God 
Himself.  There  is  but  one  Hebrew  word  for  *  *  obey- 
ing voice"  and  '■^hearing  voice:"  to  hear  aright 
prepares  to  obey.  It  is  when  I  learn  the  will  of  God, 
not  in  the  words  of  a  man  or  a  book,  but  from  God 
Himself,  when  I  hear  the  voice  of  God,  that  I  shall 
surely  believe  what  is  promised  and  do  what  is  com- 
manded. The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  voice  of  God :  when 
we  hear  the  living  voice  speak,  obedience  becomes 
easy.'^  O  let  us  then  wait  in  silence  upon  God,  and 
set  our  soul  open  before  Him,  that  He  may  speak  by 
His  Spirit,  When  in  our  Bible-reading  and  praying 
we  learn  to  wait  more  upon  God,  so  that  we  can  say : 
My  God  has  spoken  this  to  me,  has  given  me  this 
promise,  has  commanded  this,  then,  shall  we  also 
obey.  "  To  listen  to  the  voice  "  earnestly,  diligently, 
is  the  sure  way  to  obedience. 

With  a  servant,  a  warrior,  a  child,  a  subject,  obedi- 
dience  is  indispensable,  the  first  token  of  integrity. 
And  shall  God,  the  living,  glorious  God,  find  no 
obedience  with  us  ?  *      No  :  let  cheerful,    punctual, 

'  Deut.  xxviii.  i  ;  Isa.  Ixiii.  5  ;  John  xiv.  15,  n,  23  ;  Acts  v.  32. 
2  Gen.  xii.  i,  4,  xxxi.  13,  16  ;    Matt.  xiv.  28  ;  Luke  v.  5  ;    John  x. 
4,27. 
'^  Mai.  i.  6  ;  Matt.  viL  21. 

213 


The  New  Life. 

precise  obedience  from  the  beginning  be  the  token  of 
the  genuineness  of  our  fellowship  with  the  Son  whose 
obedience  is  our  life. 


O  Father,  who  makest  us  Thy  children  in  Christ, 
Thou  makest  us  in  Him  obedient  children,  as  He  was 
obedient.  Let  the  Holy  Spirit  make  the  obedience 
of  Jesus  so  glorious  and  powerful  in  us,  that  obedi- 
ence shall  be  the  highest  joy  of  our  life.  Teach  us 
in  everything  only  to  seek  to  know  what  Thou 
desirest  and  then  to  do  it.     Amen. 

For  a  life  of  obedience  these  things  are  required  : — 

1.  Decisive  surrender.  I  must  no  longer  have  to  ask  in  every 
single  case  :  Shall  I  or  shall  I  not,  must  I,  can  I,  be  obedient  ? 
No  :  it  must  be  such  an  unquestionable  thing,  that  I  shall  know 
of  nothing  else  than  to  be  obedient.  He  that  cherishes  such  a 
disposition  and  thinks  of  obedience  as  a  thing  that  stands  firm, 
shall  find  it  easy,  yea,  shall  literally  taste  in  it  great  joy. 

2.  The,  knowledge  of  God's  will  through  the  Spirit.  Pray,  do 
not  imagine  that,  because  you  know  the  Bible  in  some  sort,  you 
know  the  will  of  God.  The  knowledge  of  God's  will  is  some- 
thing spiritual  :  let  the  Holy  Spirit  make  known  to  you  the 
knowledge  of  God's  will. 

3.  The  doing  0/ all  that  we  know  to  be  right.  All  doing  teaches 
men  :  all  doing  of  what  is  right  teaches  men  obedience.  All 
that  the  word,  or  conscience,  or  the  Spirit  tells  you  is  right, 
actually  do  it.  It  helps  to  form  doing  into  a  holy  habit,  and  is 
an  exercise  leading  to  more  power  and  more  knowledge.  Do 
what  is  right.  Christian,  out  of  obedience  to  God,  and  you 
shall  be  blessed. 

4.  Faith  in  the  power  0/  Christ.  You  have  the  power  to  obey  : 
"be  sure  of  this.  Although  you  do  not  feel  it,  you  have  it  in 
Christ  your  Lord  by  faith. 

5 .  The  glad  assu  ranee  0/  the  blessing  of  obedience.  It  unites  us 
with  our  God,  it  wins  his  good  pleasure  and  love,  it  strengthens 
•our  life,  it  brings  the  blessedness  of  heaven  in  our  heart. 

214 


XLV. 
THE  WILL  OF  GOD. 

"Thy  will  be  done  as  in  heaven,  so  on  earth." — Matt.  vi.  la 

THE  glory  of  heaven,  where  the  Father  dwells,  is 
that  His  will  is  done  there.  He  who  would 
taste  the  blessedness  of  heaven  must  know  the  Father 
who  is  there,  and  do  His  will,  as  it  is  done  in  heaven. ^ 

"  Heaven  is  an  unending  holy  kingdom,  of  which 
the  throne  of  God  is  the  central  point.  Around  this 
throne  there  are  innumerable  multitudes  of  pure, 
free  beings,  all  ordered  under  powers  and  dominions. 
An  indescribably  rich  and  many-sided  activity  fills 
their  life.  All  the  highest  and  noblest  that  keeps 
man  occupied  is  but  a  faint  shadow  of  what  finds 
place  in  this  invisible  world.  All  these  beings 
possess  each  their  free  personal  will.  The  will,  how- 
ever, has  in  self-conscious  freedom,  by  its  own  choice, 
become  one  with  the  holy  will  of  the  holy  Father,  so 
that,  in  the  midst  of  a  diversity  that  flashes  out  in  a 
million  forms,  only  one  will  is  accomplished — the 
will  of  God.  All  the  rich,  blessed  movement  of  the 
inhabitants  of  heaven  has  its  origin  and  its  aim  in 
the  will  of  God." 

And  why  is  it  then  that  His  children  on  earth  da 

1  Dan.  iv.  35. 
215 


The  New  Life. 

not  regard  this  will  as  their  highest  joy  ?  Wherefore 
is  it  that  the  petition,  "Thy  will  be  done  as  in 
heaven,"  is  for  the  most  part  coupled  with  thoughts 
of  the  severe,  the  trying  elements  in  the  will  of  God, 
of  the  impossibility  of  our  always  rejoicing  in  God'a 
will.  The  cause  is  this :  we  do  not  take  pains  to 
know  the  will  of  God  in  its  glory  and  beauty,  as  the 
emanation  of  love,  as  the  source  of  power  and  joy,  as 
the  expression  of  the  perfection  of  God.  We  think 
of  God's  will  only  in  the  law  that  He  gave  and  that 
we  cannot  keep,  or  in  the  trials  in  which  this  will 
appears  in  conflict  with  our  own.  O  let  us  no  longer 
do  this,  but  take  pains  to  understand  that  in  the  will 
of  God  all  His  love  and  blessedness  are  compre- 
hended and  can  be  apprehended  by  us.  ^ 

Hear  what  the  word  says  about  the  will  of  God : 
and  the  glorious  things  that  are  destined  for  us  in 
this  will. 

"  This  is  the  will  of  my  Father,  that  every  one  that 
"beholdeth  the  Son  and  believeth  on  Him  should 
have  eternal  life."  The  will  of  God  is  the  rescue  of 
sinners  by  faith  in  Christ.  He  that  surrenders  him- 
self to  this  glorious  will  to  seek  souls  shall  have  the 
assurance  that  God  will  bless  His  work  to  others ;  for 
he  carries  out  God's  will,  even  as  Jesus  did  it.' 

"It  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven  that  one  of  these  little  ones  should  perish." 
The  will  of  God  is  the  maintenance,  the  strengfthen- 
ing,  the  keeping  of  the  weakest  of  His  children. 

1  Gal.  i.  4  ;  Bph.  i.  5,  9,  ii ;  Heb.  x.  10. 
»  John  iv.  34,  V.  30,  vi.  38,  40. 
216 


The  Will  of  God. 

What  courage  shall  he  have  who  unites  himself 
cordially  with  this  will.^ 

''This  is  the  will  of  God,  even  your  sanctifica- 
tion."  With  His  whole  heart,  with  all  the  power  of 
His  will,  is  God  willing  to  make  us  holy.  If  we  but 
open  our  heart  to  believe  that  it  is  not  the  law,  but 
the  will  of  God,  something  that  He  certainly  gives 
and  does  where  we  permit  Him,  then  shall  we  rejoice 
over  our  sanctification  as  stable  and  sure.^ 

"  In  everything  give  thanks  :  for  this  is  the  will  of 
God  in  Christ  Jesus  to  you-ward."  A  joyful,  thank- 
ful life  is  what  God  has  destined  for  us,  is  what  He 
will  work  in  us  :  what  He  desires,  that  He  certainly 
does  in  those  who  do  not  withstand  Him,  but  receive 
and  suffer  His  will  to  work  in  them.^ 

What  we  require  then  is  to  surrender  our  spirit  to 
be  filled  with  the  thought,  that  what  God  would  have 
He  will  certainly  bring  to  pass  when  we  do  not  resist 
Him.  And  if  we  further  consider  how  glorious,  and 
good,  and  perfect  the  will  of  God  is,  shall  we  not 
then  yield  ourselves  with  the  whole  heart,  that  this 
will  may  bring  itself  to  accomplishment  in  us  ?  * 

To  this  end,  let  us  believe  that  the  will  of  God  is 
His  love.  Let  us  see  what  blessings  in  the  word  are 
connected  with  the  doing  of  this  will.*  Let  us  think 
of  the  glory  of  heaven  as  consisting  in  the  doing  of 

1  Matt,  xviii.  14. 
'  I  Thess.  iv.  3,  v.  23,  24. 
» I  Thess.  V.  i8. 
<  Rom.  xii.  2. 

*Matt.  vii.  21,  xii.  50;  John  vii.  17,  ix.  31 ;  Kph-  v.  17,  vi.  6;  x 
John  ii.  17, 

217 


The  New  Life. 

God's  will,  and  make  the  choice  that  that  our  life  on 
earth  shall  be.  And  let  us  with  prayer  and  medita- 
tion suffer  ourselves  to  be  led  of  the  Spirit  to  know 
this  will  aright.^ 

When  we  have  thus  learned  to  know  the  will  of 
God  on  its  glorious  heavenly  side  in  the  word,  and 
have  done  it,  it  will  not  be  difl&cult  for  us  also  to 
bear  this  will  where  it  appears  to  be  contrary  to  our 
nature.  We  shall  be  so  filled  with  the  adoration  of 
God  and  His  will,  that  we  shall  resolve  to  see,  and 
approve,  and  love  this  will  in  everything.  And  it 
will  be  the  most  glorious  thought  of  our  life  that 
there  is  to  be  nothing,  nothing,  in  which  the  will  of 
God  must  not  be  known  and  honored.^ 


O  my  Father,  this  was  the  glory  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
that  He  did  not  His  own  will,  but  the  will  of  His 
Father.  This  His  glory  I  desire  to  have  as  mine. 
Father,  open  mine  eyes  and  my  heart  to  know  the 
perfection,  the  glory  of  Thy  will,  and  the  glory  of  a 
life  in  this  will.  Teach  me  to  understand  Thy  will 
aright,  then  willingly  and  cheerfully  to  execute  it ; 
and  where  I  have  to  hear  it,  to  do  this  also  with  filial 
adoration.     Amen. 

1.  To  do  the  will  of  God  from  the  heart  in  prosperity  is  the 
only  way  to  bear  this  will  from  the  heart  in  suffering. 

2.  To  do  the  will  of  God,  I  must  know  it  spiritually.  The 
light  and  the  power  of  the  Spirit  go  together  :  what  He  teaches 

1  Rom.  xii.  2  ;  Col.  i.  9,  iv.  12  ;  Heb.  x.  36,  xiii.  21. 

2  Ps.  xlii.  9  ;  Matt.  xxvi.  39  ;  Heb.  x.  7,  9. 

218 


The  Will  of  God. 


to  see  as  God's  will.  He  certainly  teaches  all  to  do.    Meditate 
much  on  Rom.  xii.  i,  and  pray  earnestly  to  see  God's  will  aright. 

3.  Learn  always  to  adore  the  will  of  God  in  the  least  and  the 
worst  thing  that  man  does  to  you.  It  is  not  the  will  of  God 
that  man  should  do  what  is  sinful ;  but  when  man  does  sin,  it  is 
the  will  of  God  that  His  child  should  be  proved  thereby.  Say 
then  always  in  the  least  as  well  as  the  greatest  trials  :  it  is  the 
will  of  God  that  I  am  in  this  difficulty.  This  brings  the  soul  to 
rest  and  silence,  and  teaches  it  to  honor  God  in  the  trial.  On 
this  point  read  the  chapter,  "Is  God  in  everything?"  in  the 
excellent  little  book,  "The  Christian's  Secret  of  salvation."* 

4.  When  God  gave  a  will  to  man,  He  gave  him  a  power 
whereby  he  could  accept  or  rejeet  the  will  of  God.  Child  of 
God,  pray,  open  your  will  to  receive  the  will  of  God  with  its  full 
power,  and  to  be  filled  with  it.  This  is  heavenly  glory  and 
blessedness,  to  be  conscious  every  day  :  my  will  is  in  harmony 
with  God's  will ;  God's  will  lives  in  me.  It  is  the  will  of  God  to 
work  this  in  you. 

*[Tkf  Christian's  Secret  of  a  Happy  Life,  by  H.  W.  S.  F.  E- 
Longley,  chap,  viii,,  p.  83.— Tr.] 
219 


XLVI. 
SELF-DENIAL. 

*'  Then  said  Jesus  unto  His  disciples,  if  any  man  would  come 
after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  and  follow 
Me."— Matt.  xvi.  24. 

SELF-DENIAIv  was  an  exercise  of  which  the  Lord 
Jesus  often  spoke.  He  mentioned  it  several 
times  as  an  indispensable  token  of  every  true  disci- 
ple. He  connects  it  with  cross-bearing  and  losing 
life.^  Our  old  life  is  so  sinful,  and  remains  to  the 
end  so  sinful,  that  it  is  never  in  a  condition  for  any- 
thing good.  It  must  therefore  be  denied  and  morti- 
fied, in  order  that  the  new  life,  the  life  of  God,  may 
have  free  dominion  over  us.''  Let  the  young  Chris- 
tian resolve  from  the  very  beginning  to  deny  himself 
wholly,  in  accordance  with  the  injunction  of  his 
Lord.  At  the  outset,  it  seems  severe :  he  will  find 
that  it  is  the  source  of  inconceivable  blessing. 

Let  self-denial  reach  our  carnal  understanding.  It 
was  when  Peter  had  spoken  according  to  the  thought 
of  the  natural  understanding,  that  the  Lord  had  to 
say  to  him  :  "  Thou  mindest  not  the  things  of  God, 
but  the  things  of  men. "  You  must  deny  yourselves 
and  your  own  thoughts.     We  must  be  careful  that 

1  Matt.  X.  38,  39  ;  Luke  ix.  23,  xiv.  27  ;  John  xii.  24,  25. 

2  Rom.  vi.  6,  viii.  13 ;  Gal.  li.  20,  v.  24,  vi.  14 ;  Col.  iii.  5. 

220 


Self-Denial. 

the  activity  of  our  understanding  with  the  word  and 
prayer,  in  endeavoring  to  reach  the  knowledge  of 
what  is  God's  will,  does  not  deceive  us  with  a  service 
of  God  that  is  not  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  Deny  your 
carnal  understanding ;  bring  it  to  silence ;  in  holy 
silence  give  place  to  the  Holy  Spirit ;  let  the  voice  of 
God  be  heard  in  your  heart.  ^ 

Deny  also  your  own  will,  with  all  its  lusts  and 
desires.  Let  it  be  once  for  all  unquestionable  that 
the  will  of  God  in  everything  is  your  choice,  and 
that  therefore  every  desire  that  does  not  fall  in  with 
this  will,  must  be  mortified.  Pray,  believe  that  in 
the  will  of  God  there  is  heavenly  blessedness,  and 
that  therefore  self-denial  appears  severe  only  at  the 
outset,  but,  when  you  exercise  yourself  heartily  in  it, 
becomes  a  great  joy.  Let  the  body  with  all  its  life 
abide  under  the  law  of  self-denial.'^ 

Deny  also  your  own  honor.  Seek  not  it,  but  the 
honor  of  God.  This  brings  such  a  rest  into  the  soul. 
"How  can  ye  believe,"  says  Jesus,  ''which  receive 
glory  one  of  another?"  Although  your  honor  be 
hurt  or  reviled,  commit  it  to  God  to  watch  over  it. 
Be  content  to  be  little,  to  be  nothing.  "  Blessed  are 
the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom."  ' 

Deny,  in  like  manner,  your  own  power.  Cherish 
the  deep  conviction  that  it  is  those  who  are  weak, 
those  who  are  nothing,  that  God  can  use.  Be  very 
much  afraid  of  your  own  endeavors  in  the  service  of 

1  Matt.  xvi.  23  ;  i  Cor.  i.  17,  27,  ii.  6 ;  Col.  ii.  18. 
»  Matt.  xxvi.  39  ;  Rom.  vi.  i  j  ;  i  Cor.  ix.  25,  27. 
3 Matt.  V.  3  :  John  v.  44,  vii.  18,  viii.  50 ;  1  These,  ii.  6- 
221 


The  New  Life. 

God,  however  sincere  they  may  be.  Although  you 
feel  as  if  you  had  power,  say  before  God  that  you 
have  it  not,  that  your  power  is  nothing :  continuous 
denial  of  your  own  power  is  the  way  to  enjoy  the 
power  of  God.  It  is  in  the  heart  that  dies  to  its  own 
power,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  decides  to  dwell  and 
bring  the  power  of  God.^ 

Deny  especially  your  own  interests.  Live  not  to 
please  yourself,  but  your  neighbor.  He  that  seeks 
his  own  life  shall  lose  it ;  he  that  would  live  for  him- 
self shall  not  find  life.  But  he  that  would  really 
imitate  Jesus,  to  share  in  His  joy,  let  him  give  his 
life  as  He  did,  let  him  sacrifice  his  own  interests.* 

Beloved  Christian,  at  conversion  you  had  to  make 
a  choice  betwixt  your  own  self  and  Christ,  which 
you  should  obey.  You  then  said:  "Not  I,  but 
Christ."  Now  you  are  to  confirm  this  choice  every 
day.  The  more  you  do  so,  the  more  joyful  and 
blessed  will  it  be  for  you  to  renounce  the  sinful  self, 
to  cast  aside  unholy  self-working,  and  suffer  Jesus  to 
be  all.  The  way  of  self-denial  is  a  way  of  deep  heav- 
enly blessedness. 

There  are  very  many  Christians  that  observe  noth- 
ing of  this  way.  They  would  have  Jesus  to  make 
them  free  from  punishment,  but  not  to  liberate  them 
from  themselves,  from  their  own  will.  But  the  in- 
vitation to  discipleship  still  always  rings :  "  If  any 
man  would  come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and 
take  up  his  cross  and  follow  Me." 

1 2  Cor.  iii.  5,  xii.  9. 

2  Rom.  XV.  I,  3  ;  I  Cor.  x.  23,  24  ;  Kph.  ii  4- 
222 


Self-Denial. 

The  reason  as  well  as  the  power  for  self-denial  we 
find  in  the  little  word  Me.  "  If  any  man  would 
come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  follow  Me.'' 
The  old  life  is  in  ourselves  :  the  new  life  is  in  Jesus  : 
the  new  life  cannot  rule  without  driving  out  the  old. 
Where  one's  own  self  had  everything  to  say,  it  must 
be  nothing.  This  it  would  fain  not  be  :  on  this  ac- 
count there  must  be  all  the  day  denial  of  one's  self, 
imitation  of  Jesus.  He,  with  His  teaching,  His  will, 
His  honor,  his  interests,  must  fill  the  heart.  But  he 
that  has  and  knows  Him,  willingly  denies  himself ; 
Christ  is  so  precious  to  him,  that  he  sacrifices  every- 
thing, even  himself,  to  win  Him.^ 

This  is  the  true  life  of  faith.  Not  according  to 
what  nature  sees  or  thinks  to  be  acceptable,  do  I  live, 
but  according  to  what  Jesus  says  and  would  have. 
Every  day  and  every  hour  I  confirm  the  wonderful 
bargain:  "Not  I,  but  Christ:"  I  nothing,  Christ 
everything.  "Ye  died,"  and  no  longer  have  power, 
or  will,  or  honor  ;  "your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in 
God:"  Christ's  power  and  will  alone  prevail.  O 
soul,  cheerfully  deny  that  sinful,  wretched  self,  in 
order  that  the  glorious  Christ  may  dwell  in  you. 


Precious  Saviour,  teach  me  what  self-denial  is. 
Teach  me  so  to  distrust  my  heart  that  in  nothing 
shall  I  yield  to  its  fancy.  Teach  me  so  to  know 
Thee  that  it  shall  be  impossible  for  me  to  do  any- 
thing else  than  to  offer  up  myself  to  possess  Thee 
and  Thy  life.     Amen, 

1  Gal.  ii.  ao  ;  Phil.  iii.  7.  8. 
223 


The  New  Life. 


1.  Of  the  denial  of  the  natural  understanding  Tersteegen 
says:  "God  and  His  truth  are  never  known  aright,  save  by 
such  an  one  as,  by  the  dying  of  his  carnal  nature,  his  inclina- 
tions, passions,  and  will,  is  made  very  earnest  and  silent ;  and 
by  the  abandonment  of  the  manifold  deliberations  of  the  under- 
standing, has  become  very  simple  and  childlike.  We  must  give 
our  heart  and  our  will  entirely  to  God,  forsaking  our  own  will 
in  all  things,  releasing  ourselves  especially  from  the  manifold 
imaginations  and  activities  of  the  understanding,  even  in 
spiritual  things,  that  it  ma}'  collect  itself  silently  in  the  heart, 
and  dwell  as  in  the  heart  with  God.  Not  in  the  head,  but  in  the 
heart,  does  the  true  understanding  display  itself  in  acquiring 
the  knowledge  of  God.  In  the  head  are  the  barren  ideas  of 
truth  :  in  the  heart  is  found  the  living  truth  itself,  the  anointing 
that  teaches  us  all  things.  In  the  heart  is  found  the  living 
fountain  of  light.  Any  one  that  lives  in  a  heart  entertained 
with  God,  will  often,  with  a  glance  of  the  eye,  discern  more 
truth  than  another  with  the  greatest  exertion." 

2.  Read  the  above  passage  with  care  :  you  will  find  in  it  the 
reason  why  we  have  several  times  said,  that  when  you  read  or 
pray  you  must  at  every  opportunity  keep  quiet  for  a  little  and 
set  yourself  in  entire  silence  before  God.  This  is  necessary,  to 
bring  the  activity  of  the  natural  understanding  to  silence  and 
to  set  the  heart  open  before  God,  that  He  may  speak  there.  In 
the  heart  is  the  temple  where  worship  in  spirit  and  truth  takes 
place.  Distrust,  deny  your  understanding  in  spiritual  things. 
The  natural  understanding  is  in  the  head  :  the  spiritual  under- 
standing is  in  the  heart,  the  temple  of  God.  O  preserve  in  the 
temple  of  God  a  holy  silence  before  His  countenance  :  then  He 
will  speak. 

3.  "The  peculiar  mark  of  Christian  self-denial  is  inward 
cheerfulness  and  joy  in  the  midst  of  privation.  The  word  of 
God  makes  unceasing  joy  a  duty.  This  gladsome  disposition, 
which,  hailing  from  eternity,  has  all  change  and  vicissitude 
under  foot,  will  hold  its  ground,  not  only  in  times  of  severe  suf- 
fering, but  also  in  the  self-denial  of  every  day  and  hour  that  is 
inseparable  from  the  Christian  life." 

4.  What  all  am  I  to  deny  ?  Deny  yourself  How  shall  I  know 
where  and  when  to  deny  myself?    Do  so  always  and  in  every- 

224 


Self-Denial. 

thing.  And  if  you  do  not  rightly  understand  that  answer,  know 
that  no  one  can  give  you  the  right  explanation  of  it  but  Jesus 
Himself.     To  imitate  Him,  to  be  taught  of  Him,  is  the  only  -way 
to  self-denial.    Only  when  Jesus  comes  in,  does  self  go  out. 
15  72$ 


XlyVII. 
DISCRETION. 

"For  wisdom  shall  enter  into  thine  heart,  and  knowledge 
shall  be  pleasant  unto  thy  soul ;  discretion  shall  vratch  over 
thee,  understanding  shall  keep  thee. "~Prov.  ii.  lo,  ii. 

"My  son,  keep  sound  wisdom  and  discretion:  so  shall  they 
be  life  unto  thy  soul." — Prov.  iii.  21,  22. 

"  Ye  ought  to  be  quiet,  and  to  do  nothing  rash."— Acts 
xix.  36. 

INDISCRETION  is  not  meraly  the  sin  of  the  uncon- 
verted :  amongst  the  people  of  God,  it  is  often 
the  cause  of  much  evil  and  misery.  We  read  of 
Moses :  ' '  They  angered  him  also  at  the  waters  of 
Meribah,  so  that  it  went  ill  with  Moses  for  their 
sakes  :  because  they  were  rebellious  against  his  spirit, 
and  he  spake  unadvisedly  with  his  lips."  So  of 
Uzzah's  touching  the  ark:  "And  God  smote  him 
there  for  his  error  {margin,  rashness)."  ^ 

What  discretion  is,  and  why  it  is  so  necessary,  may 
be  easily  explained.  When  an  army  marches  into 
the  province  of  an  enemy,  its  safety  depends  on  the 
guards  which  are  set,  which  are  to  be  always  on  the 
watch,  to  know  and  give  warning  when  the  enemy 
approaches.  Advance  guards  are  sent  out  that  the 
territory  and  power  of  the  enemy  may  be  known. 

I'i  Sam.  vi.  7  ;  Ps.  cvi.  33;  Prov.  xii.  18. 
226 


Discretion. 

This  prudence,  wliich  looks  out  beforehand  and  looks 
round,  is  indispensable. 

The  Christian  lives  in  the  province  of  the  enemy. 
All  that  surrounds  him  may  become  a  snare  or  an  oc- 
casion of  sin.  Therefore  his  whole  walk  is  to  be  car- 
ried out  in  a  holy  reserve  and  watchfulness,  in  order 
that  he  may  do  nothing  indiscreet.  He  watches  and 
prays  that  he  may  not  enter  into  temptation.^  Pru- 
dence keeps  guard  over  him.* 

Discretion  keeps  watch  over  the  lips.  O  what  loss 
many  a  child  of  God  suffers  by  the  thought  that  if 
he  only  speaks  nothing  wrong,  he  may  speak  what 
he  will.  He  knows  not  how,  through  much  speaking, 
the  soul  becomes  ensnared  in  the  distractions  of  the 
world,  because  in  the  multitude  of  words  there  is  not 
wanting  transgression.  Discretion  endeavors  not  to- 
speak,  save  for  the  glory  of  God  and  blessing  to 
neighbors.^ 

Over  the  ear  also  discretion  keeps  guard.  Through 
the  gate  of  the  ear  comes  to  me  all  the  news  of  the 
world,  all  the  indiscreet  speech  of  others,  to  infect 
me.  Very  hurtful  for  the  soul  is  eagerness  for  news. 
One  can  afterwards  no  more  look  into  one's  self :  one 
lives  wholly  in  the  world  round  about.  Corinth  was 
much  more  godless  than  Athens;  but  in  this  last 
place  where  they ''  spent  their  time  in  nothing  else  but 
either  to  tell  or  to  hear  some  new  thing, ' '  very  few 

1  Matt.  xxvi.  41 ;  Luke  xxi.  36  ;  Eph.  vi.  i8  ;   i  Pet.  v.  7,  v.  8. 
2 1  Sam.  xviii.  14;    Matt.  x.  16;    Luke  i.  17,  xvi.  8  ;    Eph.  v.  15  ; 
Tit.  ii.  4. 
3Ps.  xxxix.  2,  cxli.  3  ;  Prov.  x.  19  ;  Eccles.  v.  i,  2. 
227 


The  New  Life. 

were  converted.     Take  heed,  says  Jesus,   what  ye 
hear.i 

On  this  account,  discretion  keeps  watch  over  the 
society  in  which  the  Christian  mingles.  "  He  that 
separateth  himself  seeketh  his  own  desire."  The 
child  of  God  has  not  the  freedom  to  yield  himself  to 
the  society  of  the  world  so  much  and  so  long  as  he 
would  :  he  must  know  the  will  of  his  Father.^ 

Discretion  keeps  watch  over  all  lawful  occupations 
and  possessions.  It  knows  how  gradually  and  stealth- 
ily the  love  of  money,  worldly-mindedness,  the  secret 
power  of  the  flesh,  obtains  the  upper  hand,  and  that 
it  can  never  reckon  itself  free  from  this  temptation.' 

And,  above  all,  it  keeps  watch  over  the  heart, 
because  there  are  the  issues  of  life,  there  is  the  foun- 
tain out  of  which  everything  springs.  Remembering 
the  word,  "he  that  trusteth  in  his  own  heart  is  a 
fool,"  it  walks  in  deep  humility,  and  it  works  out 
salvation  with  fear  and  trembling.* 

And  whence  has  the  soul  the  power  to  be  with  a 
never-resting  watchfulness  on  its  guard  against  the 
thousand  dangers  that  surround  it  on  all  sides  ?  Is  it 
not  fatiguing,  exhausting,  harassing,  to  have  thus  to 
watch  always  and  never  to  be  at  rest  in  the  certainty 
that  there  is  no  danger  ?  No,  absolutely  not.  Discre- 
tion brings  just  the  highest  restfulness.  It  has  its  se- 
curity and  strength  in  its  heavenly  Keeper,  who  slum- 

1  Prov.  ii.  a,  xviii.  5  ;  Mark  iv.  24  :  Acts  xvii.  21. 

2  Ps.  i.  I ;  Prov.  xviii.  i ;    2  Cor.  vi.  14  ;  2  Thess.  iii.  14  ;    a  John 

XO,  II. 

'Matt.  xiii.  22  ;  Luke  xxi.  34  ;  i  Tim.  vi.  9,  17. 
*Prov.  iii,  21,  23,  iv.  23,  xxviii.  16 ;  Jer.  xzxi.  33. 
228 


Discretion. 

bers  not  nor  sleeps.  In  confidence  in  Him,  under  the 
inspiration  of  His  Spirit,  discretion  does  its  work  : 
the  Christian  walks  as  one  that  is  wise  ;  the  dignity  of 
a  holy  prudence  adorns  him  in  all  his  actions.  The 
rest  of  faith,  the  faith  that  Jesus  watches  and  guards, 
binds  to  Him  in  love,  and  holy  discretion  springs  as 
of  its  own  accord  from  a  love  that  would  not  grieve 
or  abandon  Him,  from  a  faith  that  has  its  strength 
for  everything  in  Him. 

O  Ivord  my  God,  guard  me,  that  I  may  not  be  of 
the  indiscreet  in  heart.  I/et  the  prudence  of  the 
righteous  always  characterize  me,  in  order  that  in 
everything  I  may  be  kept  from  giving  offence. 
Amen. 


1.  To  one  who  bestowed  great  care  on  having  his  horse  and 
cart  in  thoroughly  good  order,  it  was  once  said  :  Come,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  be  always  taking  so  much  pains  with  this.  His 
answer  was  :  I  have  always  found  my  prudence  paid.  How 
many  a  Christian  has  need  of  this  lesson.  How  many  a  young 
Christian  may  well  pray  for  this — that  his  conversion  may  be, 
according  to  God's  word,  "  to  the  prudence  of  the  righteous." 

2.  Discretion  has  its  root  in  self-knowledge.  The  deeper  my 
knowledge  of  my  impotence  and  the  sinfulness  of  my  flesh  is, 
the  greater  is  the  need  of  watchfulness.  It  is  thus  our  element 
of  true  self-denial. 

3.  Discretion  has  its  power  in  faith  :  the  Lord  is  our  Keeper, 
and  He  does  His  keeping  through  the  Spirit  keeping  us  in 
mind.     It  is  from  Him  that  our  discretion  comes. 

4.  Its  activity  is  not  limited  to  ourselves  :  it  reaches  out  espe- 
cially to  our  neighbor,  in  the  way  of  giving  him  no  offence,  and 
in  laying  no  stumbling-block  in  his  way.  (Rom.  xiv.  13  ;  i  Cor. 
viii.  9,  X.  32  ;  Phil.  i.  10.) 

5.  It  finds  great  delight  in  silence,  so  as  to  commit  its  way  to 
the  Ivord  with  composure  and  deliberation.    It  esteems  highly 

229 


The  New  Life. 

the  word  of  the  town-clerk  of  Ephesus  :  "  Ye  ought  to  be  quiet, 
and  to  do  nothing  rash." 

6.  In  great  generals  and  their  victories,  we  see  that  discretion 

is  not  timidity  :  it  is  consistent  with  the  highest  courage  and  the 

most  joyful  certitude  of  victory.     Discretion  watches  against 

rashness,  but  enhances  the  courage  of  faith. 

230 


XLVIIL 
MONEY. 

*•  Money  answereth  all  things."— Eccles.  x.  19. 

"  I  verily  dedicate  the  silver  unto  the  I^ord  from  my  hand."— 
JUDG.  xvii.  3. 

' '  Thou  oughtest  therefore  to  have  put  my  money  to  the 
bankers,  and  at  my  coming  I  should  have  received  back  mine 
own  with  interest." — Matt.  xxv.  27. 

IT  is  in  his  dealing  with  the  world  and  its  posses- 
sions, that  the  Christian  finds  one  of  the  oppor- 
tunities in  which  he  is  to  manifest  his  self-denial  and 
the  spirit  of  discretion.'  Since  it  is  in  money  that 
all  value  or  property  on  earth  still  finds  its  expres- 
sion, so  it  is  especially  in  his  dealing  with  money 
that  he  can  show  whether  he  is  free  from  worldliness 
to  deny  himself  and  to  serve  his  God.  In  order 
rightly  to  comprehend  this,  we  must  consider  for  a 
little  what  falls  to  be  said  about  money. 

What  is  money  the  token  of?  It  is  the  token  of 
the  work  by  which  a  man  earns  it :  of  his  industry, 
and  zeal,  and  ability  in  that  work  :  of  his  success  and 
the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  work.  It  is  also  the 
token  of  all  that  I  can  do  with  money :  the  token  of 
the  work  that  others  would  do  for  me,  of  the  power 
that  I  thereby  have  to  accomplish  what  I  desire,  of 

>  John  xvii.  15,  16  ;  i  Cor.  vii.  31. 
231 


The  New  Life. 

the  influence  which  I  exercise  on  those  that  are 
dependent  upon  me  for  my  money :  a  token  of  all 
the  possessions  or  enjoyments  that  are  to  be  obtained 
by  money  :  a  token  of  all  upon  earth  that  can  make 
life  desirable  :  yea,  a  token  of  life  itself,  which  with- 
out the  purchase  of  indispensable  food  cannot  be 
supported. 

Money  is  thus,  indeed,  of  earthly  things,  one  of 
the  most  desirable  and  fruitful.  No  wonder  that  it 
is  thus  esteemed  by  all. 

What  is  the  danger  of  money  ?  What  is  the  sin 
that  is  done  with  it,  that  the  Bible  and  experience 
should  so  warn  us  to  be  prudent  in  dealing  with  it  ? 
There  is  the  anxiousness  that  knows  not  if  there  will 
be  sufficient  money.  ^  There  is  the  covetousness  that 
longs  too  much  for  it.'^  There  is  the  dishonesty  that, 
without  gross  deception  or  theft,  does  not  give  to  a 
neighbor  what  belongs  to  him.'  There  is  the  love- 
lessness  that  would  draw  everything  to  one's  self  and 
does  not  keep  another.*  There  is  love  of  money, 
which  seeks  after  riches  and  lands  in  avarice.^  There 
is  robbery  of  God  and  the  poor  in  withholding  the 
share  that  belongs  to  them.* 

What  is  the  blessing  of  money  ?  If  the  danger  of 
sin  is  so  great,  would  it  not  be  better  if  there  were  no 
money  ?  Is  it  not  better  to  be  without  money  ?  No  : 
even  for  the  spiritual  life  money  may  be  a  great 

1  Matt.  vi.  31.  *  Jas.  v.  4. 

>  I  John  ii.  16.  ♦  I,uke  xri.  21. 

6 1  Tim.  vi.  9,  10,  17. 

«  Prov.  vii.  34,  26 ;  Mai.  iii.  8. 
232 


Money. 

blessing  :  as  an  exercise  in* industry  and  activity,*  in 
care  and  economy  :  as  a  token  of  God's  blessing 
upon  our  work  :  ^  as  an  opportunity  for  showing  that 
we  can  possess  and  lay  it  out  for  God,  without  with- 
holding it  or  cleaving  to  it ;  that  by  means  of  it  we 
can  manifest  our  generosity  to  the  poor  and  our 
overflowing  love  for  God's  cause  :^  as  a  means  of 
glorifying  God  by  our  beneficence,  and  of  spreading 
among  men  the  gold  of  heavenly  blessing  :  *  as  a 
thing  that,  according  to  the  assurance  of  Jesus,  we 
can  exchange  for  a  treasure  in  heaven. ^ 

And  what  is  now  the  way  to  be  freed  from  the  dan- 
ger and  to  be  led  into  the  right  blessing  of  money  ? 

Let  God  be  Lord  over  your  money.  Receive  all 
your  money  with  thanksgiving,  as  coming  from  God 
in  answer  to  the  prayer  :  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread." 6 

Lay  it  all  down  before  God  as  belonging  to  Him. 
Say  with  the  woman  :  "  I  verily  dedicate  the  silver 
unto  the  Lord."  ^ 

Let  your  dealing  with  your  money  be  a  part  of 
your  spiritual  life.  Receive,  and  possess,  and  give 
out  your  money  as  one  who  has  been  bought  at  a 
high  price,  redeemed,  not  with  silver  and  gold,  but 
with  the  precious  blood.' 

1  Prov.  xiii.  4,  xviii.  19. 

'  ProT.  X.  4,  »2. 

'  Isa.  Ivii.  7,  8,  10,  II ;  2  Cor.  viii.  14,  15. 

♦3  Cor.  ix.  12,  13. 

6  Matt.  xix.  21  ;  Luke  xii.  33. 
•i  Chron.  xxix.  14. 

7  I  Tim.  iv.  4,  5.  » I^uke  xix.  8. 

233 


The  New  Life. 

Make  what  the  word  of  God  says  of  money,  of 
earthly  good,  a  special  study.  The  word  of  the 
Father  alone  teaches  how  the  child  of  the  Father  is 
to  use  blessing. 

Reflect  much  on  the  fact  that  it  is  not  given  to  you 
yourself  alone,  but  for  you  and  your  brethren  together. 
The  blessing  of  money  is  to  do  good  to  others,  and 
make  them  rejoice. ^ 

Remember  especially  that  it  can  be  given  up  to  the 
Father  and  the  service  of  His  kingdom  for  the  up- 
building of  His  spiritual  temple,  for  the  extension  of 
His  sway.  Every  time  of  spiritual  blessing  men- 
tioned in  Scripture  was  a  time  of  cheerful  giving  for 
God's  cause.  Even  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  made  itself  known  in  the  giving  of  money  for 
the  Lord.2 

Christian,  understand  it:  all  the  deepest  delibera- 
tions of  the  heart  and  its  most  spiritual  activities 
can  manifest  themselves  in  the  way  in  which  we  deal 
with  our  money.  Love  to  God,  love  to  our  neighbor, 
victory  over  the  world  by  faith,  the  hope  of  everlast- 
ing treasure,  faithfulness  as  steward,  joy  in  God's 
service,  cheerful  self-denial,  holy  discretion,  the 
glorious  freedom  of  the  children  of  God,  can  all  be 
seen  in  the  use  of  money.  Money  can  be  the  means 
of  the  most  glorious  fellowship  with  God,  and  the 
full  enjoyment  of  the  blessedness  of  being  able  to 
honor  and  serve  Him. 

1  Acts  XX.  35. 

2  ^x.  XXX  vi.  5  ;  I  Chron.  xxix.  6,  9  ;  Acts  ii.  45,  iv.  34. 

234 


Money. 

Lord  God,  make  me  righily  discern  in  what  close 
connection  my  money  stands  with  my  spiritual  life. 
Let  the  Holy  Spirit  lead  and  sanctify  me,  so  that  all 
my  earning  and  receiving,  my  keeping  and  dispensing 
of  money  may  always  be  well-pleasing  to  Thee  and 
a  blessing  to  my  soul.     Amen. 

1.  John  Wesley  always  said  that  there  were  three  rules  about 
the  use  of  money  which  he  gave  to  men  in  business,  and  by 
which  he  was  sure  that  they  would  experience  benefit. 

Make  as  much  money  as  you  can.  Be  industrious  and 
diligent. 

Save  as  much  money  as  you  can.  Be  no  spendthrift, 
live  frugally  and  prudently. 

Give  away  as  much  money  as  you  can.  That  is  the 
di%nne  destination  of  money  ;  that  makes  it  an  ever- 
lasting blessing  for  yourselves  and  others. 

2.  Acquaint  yourself  with  the  magnificent  prayer  of  David  in 
I  Chron.  xxix.  Receive  it  into  your  soul:  it  teaches  us  the 
blessedness  and  the  glorification  of  God  that  spring  from 
cheerful  gfiving. 

235 


XLIX. 

THE  FREEDOM  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN. 

"  Being  made  free  from  sin,  ye  became  bond-servants  of  right- 
eousness. Being  made  free  from  sin,  ye  have  your  fruit  unto 
sanctification." — Rom.  vi.  18,22. 

"But  now  we  have  been  discharged  from  the  law." — Rom. 
vii.  6. 

"  The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  made  me  free 
from  the  law  of  sin  and  of  death." — Rom.  viii.  2. 

FREEDOM  is  counted  in  Scripture  as  one  of  the 
greatest  privileges  of  the  child  of  God.  There 
is  nothing  in  history  for  which  nations  have  made 
great  sacrifices  except  freedom.  Slavery  is  the  lowest 
condition  into  which  man  can  sink,  for  in  it  he  can 
no  longer  dispose  of  himself.  Freedom  is  the  deepest 
need  of  his  nature. 

To  be  free,  then,  is  the  condition  in  which  any- 
thing can  develop  itself  according  to  the  law  of  its 
nature,  that  is,  according  to  its  disposition.  Without 
freedom  nothing  can  attain  its  destiny  or  become 
what  it  ought  to  be.  This  is  true  alike  of  the  animal 
and  man,  of  the  corporeal  and  the  spiritual.  It  was 
for  this  cause  that  God  in  Israel  chose  the  redemp- 
tion out  of  the  slavery  of  Egypt  into  the  glorious 
liberty  of  God's  people,  as  the  everlasting  type  of 
redemption  out  of  the  slavery  of  sin  into  the  liberty 
236 


The  Freedom  of  the  Christian. 

of  the  children  of  God.^  On  this  account,  Jesus  said 
on  earth  :  "If  the  Son  shall  make  you  free,  ye  shall 
be  free  indeed. "  And  the  Holy  Scriptures  teach  us 
to  stand  fast  in  the  freedom  with  which  Christ  made 
us  free.  A  right  insight  into  this  freedom  opens  up 
to  us  one  of  the  greatest  glories  of  the  life  that  the 
grace  of  God  has  prepared  for  us.^ 

In  the  three  passages,  from  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  in  which  sanctification  is  dealt  with,  a 
threefold  freedom  is  spoken  of.  There  is  freedom, 
from  sin  in  the  sixth  chapter,  freedom  from  the  law 
in  the  seventh,  freedom  from  the  law  of  sin  in  the 
eighth. 

There  is  freedom  from  sin  (Rom.  vi.  7,  18,  22).  Sin 
is  represented  as  a  power  that  rules  over  man,  under 
which  he  is  brought  and  taken  captive,  and  that  urges 
him  as  a  slave  to  evil.^  By  the  death  of  Christ  and 
in  Christ  of  the  believer,  who  is  one  with  Him,  he  is 
made  entirely  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin  :  it  has 
no  more  power  over  him.  If,  then,  he  still  does  sin, 
it  is  because  he,  not  knowing  his  freedom  by  faith, 
permits  sin  still  to  rule  over  him.  But  if  by  faith  he 
fully  accepts  what  the  word  of  God  thus  confirms, 
then  sin  has  no  power  over  him  :  he  overcomes  it  by 
the  faith  that  he  is  made  free  from  it.* 

Then  there  is  freedom  from  the  law.  This  leads  us 
deeper  into  the  life  of  grace  than  freedom  from  sin. 

1  Ex.  i.  14,  iv.  23,  vi.  5,  XX.  2  ;  Deut.  xxiv.  8. 

2  John  viii.  32,  36;  Gal.  iv.  21  31,  v.  i. 

'  John  viii.  34  ;  Rom.  vii.  14,  23 ;  2  Pet.  ii.  19. 
*Rom.  V.  21,  vi.  12,  14. 

237 


The  New  Life. 

According  to  Scripture,  law  and  sin  always  go  together. 
"  The  strength  of  sin  is  the  law  :"  the  law  does  noth- 
ing but  make  the  ofifence  greater.^  The  law  is  the  token 
of  our  sinfulness,  cannot  help  us  against  sin,  but 
with  its  demand  for  perfect  obedience  gives  us  over 
hopeless  to  the  power  of  sin.  The  Christian  who 
does  not  discern  that  he  is  made  free  from  the  law 
will  still  always  abide  under  sin.'^  Christ  and  the  law 
cannot  rule  over  us  together :  in  every  endeavor  to 
fulfill  the  law  as  believers,  we  are  taken  captive  by 
sin.^  The  Christian  must  know  that  he  is  entirely 
free  from  the  law,  from  the  you  must  that  stands 
without  us  and  over  us  :  then  for  the  first  time  shall 
he  know  what  it  is  to  be  free  from  sin. 

Then  there  is  also  freedom  from  the  law  of  sin, 
actual  liberation  from  the  power  of  sin  in  our  mem- 
bers. "What  we  have  in  Christ,  freedom  from  sin  and 
from  the  law,  is  inwardly  appropriated  for  us  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  "The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in 
Christ  Jesus  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  of 
death."  The  Holy  Spirit  in  us  takes  the  place  of  the 
law  over  us,  "If  ye  are  led  of  the  Spirit,  ye  are  not 
under  the  law."  Freeing  from  the  law  is  not  any- 
thing external,  but  takes  place  according  to  the 
measure  the  Spirit  obtains  dominion  in  us  and  leads 
us.  "Where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is 
liberty."  According  as  the  law  of  the  Spirit  rules 
in  us,  we  are  made  free  from  the  law,  from  the  law 

1  Rom.  iv.  15,  V.  13,  20,  vii.  13  ;  i  Cor.  xv.  56. 

2  Rom.  vi.  15,  vii.  5. 

3  Rom.  vii.  5,  23. 

238 


The  Freedom  of  the  Christian. 


of  sin.     "We  are  then  free  to  do  what  we,  as  God's 
children,  would  fain  do,  free  to  serve  God.- 

Free  expresses  a  condition  in  which  nothing  hin- 
ders me  from  being  what  I  would  be  and  ought  to  be. 
In  other  words,  free  is  to  be  able  to  do  what  I  would. 
The  power  of  sin  over  us,  the  power  of  the  law 
against  us,  the  power  of  the  law  of  sin  in  us,  hinder 
us.  But  he  that  stands  in  the  freedom  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  he  that  is  then  truly  free,  nothing  can  prevent 
or  hinder  him  from  being  what  he  would  be  and 
ought  to  be.  As  it  is  the  nature  of  a  tree  to  grow 
upwards,  and  it  also  grows  as  it  is  free  from  all  hin- 
drances, so  a  child  of  God  then  grows  to  what  he 
ought  to  be  and  shall  be.  And  according  as  the  Holy 
Spirit  leads  him  into  this  freedom,  there  springs  up 
the  joyful  consciousness  of  his  strength  for  the  life 
of  faith.  He  joyfully  shouts  :  "  I  can  do  all  things 
in  Him  that  strengtheneth  me."  ''  Thanks  be  unto 
God  which  always  leadeth  us  in  triumph  in  Christ." 


Son  of  God,  anointed  with  the  Spirit  to  announce 
freedom  to  the  captives,  make  me  also  truly  free. 
Let  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Thee,  my  Lord,  make  me 
free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  of  death.  I  am  Thy 
ransomed  one.  O  let  me  live  as  Thy  freed  one,  who 
is  hindered  by  nothing  from  serving  Thee.     Amen. 

I.  The  freedom  of  the  Christian  extends  over  his  whole  life. 

He  is  free  in  relation  to  the  institutions  and  teachings  of  men. 

*' Ye  were  bought  with  a  price:  become  not  bond-ser\'ants  of 

men."     (i  Cor.  vii.  23 ;  Col.  ii.  20.)    He  is  free  ia  relation  to  the 

^  2  Cor.  iii.  17  ;  Gal.  v.  18, 

239 


The  New  Life. 

world,  and  in  the  use  of  what  God  gives  :  he  has  power  to  pos- 
sess it  or  to  dispense  with  it,  to  enjoy  it  or  to  sacrifice  it.  (i  Cor., 
viii.  8,  ix.  4,  5.) 

2.  This  freedom  is  no  lawlessness.  We  are  free  from  sin  and 
the  law  to  serve  God  in  the  Spirit.  We  are  not  under  the  law, 
but  give  ourselves,  with  free  choice  and  in  love,  to  Him  who 
loved  us.  (Rom.  vi.  18;  Gal.  v.  13;  i  Pet.  ii.  16.)  Not  under  the 
law,  also  not  vnthout  law  ;  but  in  the  law :  a  new,  a  higher 
law,  "  The  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life,"  "  the  law  of  liberty,"  the 
law  written  in  our  hearts,  is  our  rule  and  measure,  (i  Cor.  ix. 
21 ;  Jas.  i.  15,  ii.  12.)  In  this  last  passage  the  translation  ought 
to  be  :  "bound  by  a  law  to  Christ." 

3.  This  freedom  has  its  subsistence  from  the  word  and  also  in 
it :  the  more  the  word  abides  in  me,  and  the  truth  lives  in  me, 
the  freer  I  become.     (John  viii.  31,  32,  36.) 

4.  Freedom  manifests  itself  in  love.  I  am  free  from  the  law, 
and  from  men,  and  from  institutions,  to  be  able  now  like  Christ 
to  surrender  myself  for  others.  (Rom.  xiv.  13,  21  ;  Gal.  v.  13, 
vi.  1.) 

5.  This  glorious  liberty  to  serve  God  and  our  neighbor  in  love 
is  a  spiritual  thing.  We  cannot  by  any  means  seize  it  and  draw 
it  to  us.  It  becomes  known  only  by  a  life  in  the  Holy  Spirit. 
"  Where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty."  "  If  ye  are 
led  by  the  Spirit  ye  are  not  under  the  law."  It  is  the  Holy 
Spirit  that  makes  free.  Let  us  suffer  ourselves  to  be  introduced 
by  Him  into  the  effectual  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God. 
"  The  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  freed  me  from  the  law  of  sin 
and  of  death." 

S40 


GROWTH. 

"  So  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  if  a  man  should  cast  seed  upon 
the  earth  ;  and  should  sleep  and  rise  night  and  day,  and  the 
seed  shouM  spring  up  and  grow,  he  knoweth  not  how.  The 
earth  beareth  fruit  of  herself ;  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then 
the  full  corn  in  the  ear." — Mark  iv.  26-28. 

"The  Head,  from  whom  the  whole  body  increaseth  with  the 
increase  of  God."— Col.  ii.  19. 

"That  we  may  grow  into  Him  which  is  the  Head,  even 
Christ,  from  whom  the  whole  body  makfth  the  increase."— 
Kph.  iv.  15,  16. 

DEATH  is  always  a  standing  still :  life  is  always 
movement,  progressiveness.  Increase  or  growth 
is  the  law  of  all  created  life ;  consequently,  the  new 
life  in  man  is  destined  to  increase,  and  always  by  be- 
coming stronger.  As  there  are  in  the  seed  and  in  the 
earth  a  life  and  power  of  growth  by  which  the  plant 
is  impelled  to  have  its  full  height  and  fruit ;  so  is 
there  in  the  seed  of  the  eternal  life  an  impelling 
force  by  which  also  that  life  always  increases  and 
grows  with  a  divine  growth,  until  we  come  to  a  per- 
fect man,  to  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness 
of  Christ.  1 

In  this  parable  of  the  seed  that  springs  up  of  itself, 
and  becomes  great  and  bears  fruit,  the  I^ord  teaches 

1  Eph.  iv.  13  ;  a  Thess.  i.  4. 
16  241 


The  New  Life. 

us  two  of  the  most  important  lessons  on  the  increase 
of  the  spiritual  life.  The  one  is  that  of  its  self -suffix 
ciency,  the  other  that  of  its  graduabiess. 

The  first  lesson  is  for  tho^e  that  ask  what  they  are 
to  do  in  order  to  grow  aix..  advance  more  in  grace. 
As  the  Lord  said  of  the  body  :  *'  Which  of  you  by 
being  anxious  can  add  one  cubit  unto  his  sta.ure? 
Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field  how  they  grow ; "  so 
He  says  to  us  here  tliat  we  can  do  nothing,  and  need 
to  do  nothing,  to  make  the  spiritual  life  grow.^  Do 
you  not  see  how,  while  man  slept,  the  seed  sprang  up 
and  became  high,  he  knew  not  how,  and  how  the 
earth  brought  f^rth  fruit  of  itself?  When  man  has 
once  sowed,  he  must  reckon  that  God  cares  for  the 
growth :  he  has  not  to  care :  he  must  trust  and  rest. 

And  must  man  then  do  nothing  ?  He  can  do  noth- 
ing: it  is  from  wit'. in  that  the  power  of  life  must 
come:  from  the  life,  from  the  Spirit  implanted  in 
liim.  To  the  growth  itself  he  can  contribute  noth- 
ing :  i*  shall  be  given  him  to  grow.^ 

All  that  he  can  do  is  to  let  the  life  grow.  All  that 
can  hinder  the  life,  he  must  take  away  and  keep 
away.  If  there  are  thorns  and  thistles  that  take  away 
place  and  power  in  the  soil  which  the  plant  should 
have,  he  can  take  them  away.^  The  plant  must  have 
its  place  in  the  earth  alone  and  undivided.  For  this 
the  husbandman  can  care:  then  it  grows  further  of 
itself.      So  must  the  Christian  take  away  what  can 

1  Hos.  xiv.  i6  ;  Matt.  vi.  25,  27,  30. 
2Ps   xcii.  14;  Gal.  ii.  20  ;  Col.  iii.  3. 
3  Jer.  iv.  13  ;  Matt.  xiii.  22,  23. 
242 


Growth. 

hinder  the  growth  of  the  new  life  :  to  surrender  the 
heart  entire  and  undivided  for  the  new  life,  to  hold 
it  alone  in  possession  and  to  fill  it,  so  that  it  may 
grow  free  and  unhindered.^ 

The  husbandman  can  also  bring  forward  vvhat  the 
plant  requires  in  the  way  of  food  or  drink  ;  he  can 
manure  or  moisten  the  soil  as  it  may  be  needful.  So 
must  the  believer  see  to  it  that  for  the  new  life  there 
is  brought  forward  nourishment  out  of  the  word,  the 
living  water  of  the  Spirit,  by  prayer.  It  is  in  Christ 
that  the  new  life  is  planted  :  from  Him  it  increases 
with  divine  increase  :  abide  rooted  in  Him  by  the 
exercise  of  faith  :  the  life  will  grow  of  itself.''  Give 
it  what  it  must  have  :  take  away  what  can  hinder  it : 
the  life  will  grow  and  increase  of  itself. 

Then  comes  in  the  second  lesson  of  the  parable : 
the  gradualness  of  the  growth  :  "  first  the  blade,  then 
the  ear,  then  the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  Do  not 
expect  everything  at  once.  Give  God  time.  By 
faith  and  endurance  we  inherit  the  promises:  the 
faith  that  knows  that  it  has  everything  in  Christ: 
the  endurance  that  expects  everything  in  its  time 
according  to  the  rule  and  the  order  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment. Give  God  time.  Give  the  new  life  time. 
It  is  by  continued  abiding  in  the  earth  that  the 
plant  grows  :  it  is  by  continuous  standing  in  grace, 
in  Christ  Himself,  in  whom  God  has  planted  us,  that 
the  new  life  grows.  ^ 

1  Song  ii.  15  ;  Heb.  xii.  i. 

2  John  XV.  4,  5  ;  Col.  ii.  6,  7. 

3  Heb.  iii.  13,  vi.  12,  15;  Jas.  v.  7. 

243 


The  New  Life. 

Yes :  give  the  new  life  only  sufficient  time  :  time 
in  prayer  :  time  in  intercourse  with  God :  time  in 
continuous  exercise  of  faith  :  time  in  persistent 
separation  from  the  world.  Give  it  time  :  slow  but 
sure,  hidden  but  real,  in  apparent  weakness,  but  with 
heavenly  power,  is  the  divine  growth  with  which  the 
life  of  God  in  the  soul  grows  up  to  the  perfect  man 
in  Christ. 


Lord  God,  graciously  strengthen  the  faith  of  Thy 
children,  that  their  growth  and  progress  are  in  Thy 
hands.  Enable  them  to  see  what  a  precious,  power- 
ful life  was  implanted  in  them  by  Thyself,  a  life  that 
increases  with  a  divine  increase.  Enable  them  by 
faith  and  patience  to  inherit  the  promises.  And 
teach  them  in  that  faith  to  take  away  all  that  can 
hinder  the  new  life,  to  bring  forward  all  that  can 
further  it,  so  that  thou  mayest  make  Thy  work  in 
them  glorious.     Amen. 

1.  For  a  plant,  the  principal  thing  is  the  soil  in  which  it 
stands  and  out  of  which  it  draws  its  strength.  For  the  Chris- 
tian, this  also  is  the  principal  thing  :  he  is  in  Christ.  Christ  is 
all :  he  must  grow  up  in  Him,  for  out  of  Him  the  body  obtains 
its  increase.  To  abide  in  Christ  by  faith— that  is  the  main 
thing. 

2.  Remember  that  faith  must  set  itself  towards  a  silent  rest- 
fulness,  that  growth  is  just  like  that  of  the  lilies  on  God's  hands, 
and  that  He  will  see  to  it  that  we  increase  and  g^row  strong. 

3.  By  this  firm  and  joyful  faith,  we  become  'Strengthened 
with  all  power  according  to  the  might  of  His  glory,  unto  all 
patience  and  long-suflFering  with  joy."    (Col.  i.  11.) 

4.  This  faith,  that  God  cares  for  our  growth,  takes  away  all 
anxiety,  and  gives  courage  for  doing  the  two  things  that  we 

244 


Growth. 

have  to  do  :  the  taking  away  of  what  may  be  ohstructive  to  the 
new  life,  the  bringing  forward  of  what  may  be  serviceable 
to  it. 

5.  Observe  well  the  distinction  betwixt  planting  and  growing. 
Planting  is  the  work  of  a  moment :  in  a  moment  the  earth 
receives  the  seed  :  after  that  comes  the  slow  growth.  Without 
delay — immediately  must  the  sinner  receive  the  word  :  before 
conversion  there  is  no  delay.  Then  with  time  follows  the 
growth  of  the  seed. 

6.  The  main  thing  is  Christ :  from  Him  and  in  Him  is  our 
growth.  He  is  the  soil  that  of  itself  brings  forth  fruit,  we  know 
not  how.     Hold  daily  intercourse  vnth  Him. 

There  is  a  book  "Abide  iu  Christ"  (Nisbet  &  Co.),  with 
meditations  for  a  month  on  the  blessed  life  of  continued  fellow- 
ship with  Him. 

245 


SEARCHING  THE  SCRIPTURES. 

"O  how  love  I  Thy  law  :  it  is  my  meditation  all  the  day."— 
Ps.  cxix.  97. 

"  Ye  search  (or  search  ye)  the  Scriptures  :  and  these  are  they 
which  bear  witness  of  Me." — John  v.  39. 

"  The  word  did  not  profit  them,  because  they  were  not  united 
by  faith  with  them  that  heard."— Heb.  iv.  2. 

AT  the  beginning  of  this  book  there  is  more  than 
one  passage  upon  the  use  of  God's  word  in  the 
life  of  grace.  Ere  I  take  leave  of  my  readers,  I  would 
fain  once  again  come  back  to  this  all-important  point. 
I  cannot  too  earnestly  and  urgently  address  this  call 
to  my  beloved  young  brothers  and  sisters  :  Upon 
your  use  of  the  word  of  God  your  spiritual  life  in 
great  measure  depends.  Man  lives  by  the  word  that 
proceedeth  from  the  mouth  of  God.  Therefore  seek 
with  your  whole  heart  to  learn  how  to  use  God's 
word  aright.  To  this  end  receive  the  following  hints. 
Read  the  word  more  with  the  heart  than  with  the 
understanding:  with  the  understanding  I  would 
know  and  comprehend  ;  with  the  heart  I  desire,  and 
love,  and  hold  fast.  Let  the  understanding  be  the 
servant  of  the  heart.  Be  much  afraid  of  the  under- 
standing of  the  carnal  naiure,  that  cannot  receive 
246 


Searching  the  Scriptures. 

spiritual  things.^  Deny  your  understanding,  and 
wait  in  humility  on  the  Spirit  of  God.  On  every 
occasion,  still  keep  silent  amidst  your  reading  of  the 
word,  and  say  to  yourselves  :  this  word  I  now  receive 
in  my  heart,  to  love  and  to  let  it  live  in  me.^ 

Read  the  word  always  in  fellowship  with  the  liv- 
ing God.  The  power  of  a  wor  1  depends  on  my  con- 
viction regarding  the  man  from  whom  it  comes. 
First  set  yourself  in  loving  fellowship  with  the  living 
God  under  the  impression  of  His  nearness  and  love  : 
d^al  vdth  the  word  under  the  full  conviction  that  He, 
the  eternal  God,  is  speaking  wi  h  you;  and  let  the 
heart  be  silent  to  listen  to  God,  to  God  Himself.^ 
Then  the  word  certainly  becomes  to  you  a  great 
blessing. 

Read  the  word,  as  a  living  word  in  which  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwells,  and  that  certainly  works  in 
those  that  believe.  The  word  is  seed.  Seed  has  life, 
and  grows  and  yields  fruit  of  itself.  The  word  has 
life,  and  of  itself  grows  and  yields  fruit.''  If  you  do 
not  wholly  understand  it,  if  you  do  not  feel  its  power, 
carry  it  in  your  heart ;  ponder  it  and  meditate  upon 
it :  it  will  of  itself  begin  to  yield  a  working  and 
growth  in  you.^  The  Spirit  of  God  is  with,  and  in 
the  word. 

Read  it  with  the  resolve  to  be,  not  only  a  hearer^ 
but  a  doer  of  the  word.      Let  the  great  question  be  : 

1  I  Cor  i.  19,  27,  ii.  6,  12  ;  Col.  ii.  18. 
2Ps.  cxix.  10,  II,  47  ;  Rom.  x.  8  ;  Jas.  i.  21. 
3  Gen    xvii.  3  ;  i  Sam.  iii.  9  10;  Isa.  i.  4,  Hi.  6;  Jer.  i.z. 
*-Mark  iv.  27,  28 ;  John  vi.  63  ;  i  Thess.  ii.  13  ;  1  Pet.  i.  23. 
6Ps.  cxix.  18,  40,  48,  69  ;  2  Tim.  iii.  16,  17. 
247 


The  New  Life. 

What  would  God  now  have  of  me  with  this  word? 
If  the  answer  is  :  He  would  have  me  believe  it  and 
and  reckon  upon  Him  to  fulfill  it :  do  this  immedi- 
ately from  the  heart.  If  the  word  is  a  command  of 
what  you  are  to  do,  yield  yourself  immediately  to  do 
it.i  O  there  is  an  unspeakable  blessedness  in  the 
doing  of  God's  word,  and  in  the  surrender  of  myself 
to  be  and  to  act  just  as  the  word  says  and  would 
have  it.     Be  not  hearers,  but  doers  of  the  word. 

Read  the  word  with  tune.  I  see  more  and  more 
that  one  obtains  nothing  on  earth  without  time. 
Give  the  word  time.  Give  the  word  time,  at  every 
occasion  on  which  you  sit  down  to  read  it,  to  come 
into  your  heart.  Give  it  time,  in  the  persistence 
with  which  you  cleave  to  it,  from  day  to  day,  and 
month  after  month. ^  By  perseverance  you  become 
exercised  and  more  accustomed  to  the  word  :  the 
word  begins  to  work.  Pray,  be  not  dispirited  when 
you  do  not  understand  the  word.  Hold  on :  take 
courage  :  give  the  word  time  :  later  on  the  word  will 
explain  itself.  David  had  to  meditate  day  and  night 
to  understand  it. 

Read  the  word  with  a  searching  of  the  Scriptures. 
The  best  explanation  of  the  Bible  is  the  Bible  itself. 
Take  three  or  four  texts  upon  a  point :  set  them  close 
to  one  another  and  compare  them.  See  wherein  they 
agree  and  wherein  they  differ  ;  where  they  say  the 
same  thing  or  again  something  else.  Let  the  word 
of  God  at  one  time  be  cleared  up  and  confirmed  by 

1  Matt.  V.  19,  20,  vii.  21,  24  ;  I,uke  xi.  28  ;  Jas.  i.  21,  25. 
*Deut.  vi.  5 ;  Ps.  i.  2,  cxix.  97  ;  Jer.  xv.  16. 
248 


Searching  the  Scriptures. 

.what  He  said  at  another  time  on  the  same  subject : 
this  is  the  safest  and  the  best  explanation.  Kven 
the  sacred  writers  use  this  method  of  instruction 
with  the  Scriptures  :  "  a7id  again. ''^  ^  Do  not  ccftn- 
plain  that  this  method  takes  too  much  time  and 
pains  :  it  is  worthy  of  the  pains  :  your  pains  will  be 
rewarded.  On  earth  you  have  nothing  without 
pains.^  Even  the  bread  of  life  we  have  to  eat  in  the 
sweat  of  our  face.  He  that  would  go  to  heaven  never 
goes  without  taking  pains.  Search  the  Scriptures  : 
it  will  be  richly  recompensed  to  you. 

Young  Christian,  let  one  of  my  last  and  most 
earnest  words  to  you  be  this  :  on  your  dealing  with 
the  word  of  God  depend  your  growth,  your  power, 
your  life.  Love  God's  word  then  ;  esteem  it  sweeter 
than  honey  :  better  than  thousands  of  gold  or  silver. 
In  the  word,  God  can  and  will  reveal  His  heart  to 
you.  In  the  word,  Jesus  will  communicate  Himself 
and  all  His  grace.  In  the  word,  the  Holy  Spirit  will 
come  in  to  you,  to  renew  your  heart  and  all  your 
thoughts,  according  to  the  mind  and  will  of  God. 
O,  then,  read  not  simply  enough  of  the  word  to  keep 
you  from  declension,  but  reckon  it  one  of  your  chief 
occupations  on  earth  to  yield  yourself  that  God  may 
fill  you  with  His  word,  that  He  may  fulfill  His  word 
in  you. 

Lord  God,  what  grace  it  is  that  Thou  speakest  to  us 
in  Thy  word,  that  we  in  Thy  word  have  access  to  Thy 

1  Isa.  xxxiv.  i6  ;  John  xix.  37  ;  Acts  xvii.  11  ;  Heb.  ii.  13. 
*  Prov.  ii.  4,  5,  iiL  13,  18  ;  Matt.  xiii.  44. 
249 


The  New  Life. 

heart,  to  Thy  will,  to  Thy  love.  O  forgive  us  ou* 
sins  against  Thy  precious  word.  And,  Lord,  let  the 
new  life  become  so  strong  by  the  Spirit  in  us,  that  all 
its  desire  shall  be  to  abide  in  Thy  word.     Amen. 

I.  Ps.  cxix.  In  the  middle  of  the  Bible  stands  this  psalm,  in 
which  the  praise  and  the  love  of  God's  word  are  so  strikingly 
expressed.  It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  read  through  the  divisions 
of  this  psalm  successively :  we  must  take  its  principal  points, 
and  one  with  another  seek  what  is  said  in  diflferent  passages 
upon  each  of  these.  I,et  us,  for  example,  take  the  following 
points  observing  the  indications  of  the  answers,  and  seek  in 
this  way  to  come  under  the  full  impression  of  what  is  taught  us 
of  the  glory  of  God's  word  : 

1.  The  blessing  that  the  word  gives.    Vv.  i,  2,  6,  9,  11,  14,  24, 

45,  46,  47,  and  so  on. 

2.  The  appellations  that  in  this  psalm  are  given  to  God's 

word. 

3.  How  we  have  to  handle  the  word.     (Observe — walk— keep 

— mark — and  so  on.) 

4.  Prayer  for  divine  teaching.    Vv.  5, 10,  12,  18,  19,  26. 

5.  Surrender  to  obedience  to  the  word.    B-  g.  vv.  93,  105.  106, 

112,  128,  133. 

6.  God's  word  the  basis  of  our  prayer.    Vv.  41,  49,  58,  76,  107, 

116,  170. 

7.  Observance  as  the  ground  of  confidence  in  prayer.    Vv. 

77,  159.  176. 

8.  Observance  as  promised  upon  the  hearing  of  prayer.    Vv. 

8,  17.  33,  34,  44- 

9.  The  power  to  observe  the  word.     Vv.  32,  36,  41,  42,  117,  135, 

146. 
10.  The  praise  of  God's  word.     Vv.  54,  72,  97,  129,  130,  144. 

II.  The  confident  confession  of  obedience.      Vv.  102,  110,  121, 

168. 
la.  Personal  intercourse  with  God,  seen  in  the  use  of  Thou 
and  /,  Thine  and  Mine. 

I  have  merely  mentioned  a  few  points  and  a  few  verses.    Seek 
250 


Searcliincr  the  Scriptures. 


out  more  and  mfir'.c  them,  until  your  mind  is  filled  with  the 
thoughts  about  the  word,  which  the  Spirit  of  God  desires  to 
give  you. 

Read  with  great  thoughtfulness  the  words  of  that  man  of  faith, 
George  Miiller.  H'j  says  ;  "  The  power  of  our  spiritual  life  will  be 
according  to  the  measure  of  the  room  that  the  word  of  God  takes  up 
in  our  life  and  in  our  thoughts.  After  an  experience  of  fifty- four 
years,  I  can  solemnly  declare  this.  For  three  years  after  my 
conversion  I  used  the  word  little.  Since  that  time  I  searched  it 
with  diligence,  and  the  blessing  was  wonderful.  From  that 
time,  I  have  read  the  Bible  through  a  hundred  times  in  order, 
and  at  every  time  with  increasing  joy.  Whenever  I  start  afresh 
with  it,  it  appears  to  me  as  a  new  book.  I  cannot  express  how 
great  the  blessing  is  of  faithful,  daily,  regular  searching  of  the 
Bible.  The  day  is  lost  for  me,  on  which  I  have  used  no  rounded 
time  for  enjoying  the  word  of  God. 

"Friends  sometimes  say:  I  have  so  much  to  do,  that  I  can 
find  no  time  for  regular  Bible  study.  I  believe  that  there  are 
few  that  have  to  work  harder  than  I  have.  Yet  it  remains  a 
rule  with  me  never  to  begin  my  work  until  I  have  had  real 
sweet  fellowship  with  God.  After  that  I  give  myself  heartily  to 
the  business  of  the  day,  that  is,  to  God's  work,  with  only  in- 
tervals for  some  minutes  for  prayer."  (See  also  the  very  re- 
markable words  of  his,  quoted  in  "  The  School  of  Prayer,"  pp. 
256-263.) 


LIl. 
THE  LORD  THE  PERFECTER. 

"  I  will  cry  unto  God  most  High  ;  unto  God  that  performeth 
all  things  for  me."— Ps.  Ivii.  2. 

•'The  Lord  will  perfect  that  which  concerneth  me."— Ps. 
cxxxviii.  8. 

"  Being  confident  of  this  very  thing,  that  He  which  began  a 
good  work  in  you  will  perfect  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ." 
—Phil.  i.  6. 

"  For  of  Him,  and  through  Him,  and  unto  Him  are  all  things. 
To  Him  be  the  glory  for  ever  and  ever."— Rom.  xi.  36. 

WE  read  that  David  was  once  dispirited  by  unbe- 
lief, and  said  :  "I  shall  one  day  perish  by  the 
hand  of  Saul. "  So  even  the  Christian  may  indeed 
fear  that  he  shall  one  day  perish.  This  is  because  he 
looks  upon  himself  and  what  is  in  him,  and  does  not 
set  his  trust  wholly  upon  God.  It  is  because  he  does 
not  yet  know  God  as  the  Perfecter.  He  does  not  yet 
know  what  is  meant  by  His  name  being  :  "I  am  the 
Alpha  and  the  Omega  :  the  Beginning  and  the  End  : 
the  First  and  the  Last."  If  I  really  believe  in  God 
as  the  beginning  out  of  whom  all  is,  then  must  I  also 
trust  Him  as  the  continuation  by  whom,  as  also  the 
End  to  whom,  all  is. 

God  is  the  beginning:    "He  who  began  a  good 
work  in  you  :  "   "Ye  have  not  chosen  Me,  but  I  have 
chosen  you."   It  is  God's  free  choice,  from  before  the 
252 


The  Lord  the  Perfecter. 

foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  have  to  thank  that 
we  became  believers,  and  have  the  new  life.^  Those 
that  are  still  unconverted  have  nothing  to  do  with 
this  election  :  for  them  there  is  the  oflfer  of  grace  and 
the  summons  to  surrender.  Outside,  over  the  door  of 
the  Father,  stands  the  superscription  :  "  Him  that 
Cometh  unto  Me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  This 
every  one  can  see  and  understand.  No  sooner  are 
they  inside  the  door  than  they  see  and  understand 
the  other  superscription  :  "All  that  the  Father  giveth 
Me  shall  come  to  me."  ^  Then  they  can  discern  how 
all  things  are  of  God :  first  obedience  to  the  command 
of  God,  then  insight  into  the  counsel  of  God. 

But  then  it  is  of  great  moment  to  hold  fast  this 
truth  :  He  has  begun  the  good  work.  Then  shall 
every  thought  of  God  strengthen  the  confidence  that 
He  will  also  perfect  it.  His  faithfulness,  His  love, 
His  power,  are  all  pledged  that  He  will  perfect  the 
good  work  that  He  began.  Pray,  read  how  God  has 
taken  more  than  one  oath  regarding  His  unchange- 
able faithfulness  :  your  soul  will  rest  in  this  and  find 
courage.' 

And  how  shall  He  finish  His  work  ?  What  has  its 
origin  from  Him  is  sustained  by  Him,  and  shall  one 
day  be  brought  to  Him  and  His  glory.  There  is 
nothing  in  your  life,  temporal  or  spiritual,  for  which 
the  Father  will  not  care,  because  it  has  influence 

1  John  XV.  i6  ;  Rom.  viii.  29,  30  ;  Eph.  i.  4,  11. 

2  John  vi  37. 

»  Gen.  xxviii.  15  ;  Ps.  Ixxxix  29,  34,  35,  36  ;  Isa.  liv.  9,  10 ;  Jer. 
xxxiii.  25,  26. 


The  New  Ufe. 

upon  you  for  eternity.  ^  There  is  no  moment  of  day 
or  night  in  which  the  silent  growth  of  your  soul  is 
not  to  go  forward :  the  Father  will  take  care  of  this, 
if  you  believe.  There  is  no  part  of  your  destiny  as  a 
child  of  God,  perhaps  in  things  of  which  you  have 
as  yet  not  the  least  thought,  but  the  Father  will 
continue  and  complete  His  work  in  it.'  Yet  upon 
one  condition.  You  must  trust  Him  for  this.  You 
must  in  faith  suffer  Him  to  work.  You  must  trust- 
fully say :  The  Lord  will  perfect  that  which  con- 
cerneth  me.  You  must  trustfully  pray  :  I  will  cry 
unto  God  that  performeth  all  things  for  me.  Chris- 
tian, pray,  let  your  soul  become  full  of  the  thought : 
The  whole  care,  for  the  continuation  and  the  perfect- 
ing of  God's  work  in  me,  is  in  His  hands.' 

And  how  glorious  shall  the  perfecting  not  be.  In 
our  spiritual  life,  God  is  prepared  to  exhibit  His 
power  in  making  us  partakers  of  His  holiness  and 
the  image  of  His  Son.  He  will  make  us  fit,  and  set 
us  in  a  condition  for  all  the  blessed  work  in  His, 
kingdom  that  He  would  have  from  us.  Our  body  He 
will  make  like  to  the  glorious  body  of  His  Son.  We 
may  wait  for  the  coming  of  the  Son  Himself  from 
heaven  to  take  His  own  to  Him.  He  will  unite  us  in 
one  body  with  all  His  chosen,  and  will  receive  and 
make  us  dwell  for  ever  in  His  glory.  O  how  can  we 
think  that  God  will  not  perfect  His  work  ?  He  will 
surely  do  it.  He  will  gloriously  do,  it,  for  every  one 
that  trusts  Him  for  it. 

1  Matt.  vi.  25,  34  ;  i  Pet.  v.  7.  2  isa.  xxvii.  2,  3,  li.  12,  13. 

3  Heb.  X.  35,  xiii.  5,  6,  20,  21  ;  i  Pet.  v.  10. 

254 


The  Lord  the  Perfecter. 

Child  of  God,  pray,  say  in  deep  assurance  of  faith : 
The  Lord  will  perfect  that  which  concerneth  me.  In 
every  need  say  continually  with  great  boldness  :  I 
will  call  on  God,  that  performeth  all  things  for  me. 
And  let  the  song  of  your  life  be  the  joyful  doxology: 
"From  Him,  and  through  Him,  and  to  Him  are  all 
things:  to  Him  be  the  glory  for  ever.     Amen." 


Lord  God,  who  shall  perfect  that  which  concerneth 
me,  teach  me  to  know  Thee  and  to  trust  Thee.  And 
let  every  thought  of  the  new  life  go  hand  in  hand 
with  the  joyful  assurance  :  He  who  began  a  good 
work  in  me  will  perfect  it.     Amen. 

1.  "  He  that  endureth  to  the  end,  the  same  shall  be  saved." 
It  brings  but  little  profit  to  beg^n  well ;  we  must  hold  the  begin- 
ning of  our  hope  firm  unto  the  end.  (Matt.  x.  27,  xxiv.  13  ; 
Heb.  iii.  14,  16,  xi.  12.) 

2.  The  perseverance  of  the  saints— in  holiness— is  one  of  the 
characteristic  articles  of  doctrine  of  the  Reformed  Church.  The 
grace  of  regeneration  is  inadmissible. 

3.  How  do  we  explain  the  falling  away  of  some  believers? 
They  were  only  temporary  believers  :  they  were  partakers  only 
of  the  workings  of  the  Spirit.     (Heb.  vi.  4.) 

4.  How  do  I  know  whether  I  am  partaker  of  the  true  new 
birth?  "As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the 
sons  of  God"  (Rom.  viii.  14).  The  faith  that  God  has  received 
me  is  matured,  is  confirmed,  by  works,  by  a  walk  under  the 
leading  of  the  Spirit. 

5.  How  can  any  one  know  for  certain  that  he  will  persevere 
unto  the  end?  By  faith  in  God  the  Perfecter.  We  may  take  the 
Almighty  God  as  our  keeper.  He  that  gives  himself  in  sincerity 
to  Him,  and  trusts  wholly  in  Him  to  perfect  His  work,  obtains 

255 


The  New  Life. 

a  divine  certitude  that  the  I,ord  has  Him,  and  will  hold  him 
fast  unto  the  end. 

Child  of  God,  live  in  fellowship  with  your  Father  :  live  the  life 
of  faith  in  your  Jesus  with  an  undivided  heart,  and  all  fear  of 
falling  away  shall  be  taken  away  from  you.  The  living  sealing 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  shall  be  your  assurance  of  perseverance  unto 
the  end. 

256 


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